Rio one and a half
by VPVPVP
Summary: Jupiter the scarlet macaw and his friends must travel to Rio so that Venus the Spix macaw, Mercury the Lear's macaw and Pluto the glaucous macaw can breed and have chicks. However, a second group of smugglers assisted by cats are afoot and they follow Marcel's group in capturing birds. Jupiter and the others must get the smugglers caught before it is too late
1. Chapter 1

**Rio one and a half**

 **Hi, everyone. VPVPVP here. I have decided to do a reboot of my fanfiction series. As you remember in the previous versions of my stories, I started with four Spix macaws named Cytosine, Guanine, Adenine and Thymine together with a green-winged macaw named Ruby, a hyacinth macaw named Sapphire, a great green macaw named Emerald and a blue-and-gold macaw named Jasper. Looking back at the stories I deleted, I have decided that my beginning group of OCs will each be a different species of macaw rather than four of them being the same. With the macaw tribes and clans later in the story series, (in the sequel, the Amazon Adventure), I have decided that a glaucous macaw tribe and a Lear's macaw tribe will already living as neighbours to the Spix macaw, red macaw, green macaw and the blue-and-gold macaw tribes and the two hyacinth macaw clans as well as a blue throated macaw clan living in the Amazon and the blue-and-gold macaw tribe to be just consisting of blue-and-gold macaws only rather than blue-and-gold and blue-throated instead. However, we will not meet the macaw tribes and clans until after the rewrite of Rio One and a Half is completed.**

 **The storyline of Rio One and a Half will be just like the previous version but with a change of some of the characters. This time the protagonists are all going to be named after seven of the planets and two of the dwarf planets of our Solar System, each a different species. My original OCs from the previous, deleted versions like Veggie, Dash, and the violent, antagonistic cat Brutus will still be in this story. Anyway, let's go!**

 **Chapter 1- three new arrivals**

The sun rose into the sky from behind the horizon, painting the clouds closest to it with a beautiful mixture of reds, oranges, pinks and golds while the water of the ocean in front of the rising sun reflected the star's golden disc and creating a distorted but beautiful copy of it. In front of the rising sun and the ocean was a Brazilian city called Rio de Janeiro or simply Rio. Rio looked like a mottled mass of grey, brown and white dots with greyish strips cross-crossing the dotted patches. The dots were buildings while the strips were roads. Standing high above the city on a hill was a grey figure, the Christ the Redeemer statue. The figure of Jesus stood overlooking the city with arms open wide. On one side of the mass of buildings were green and brown patches and a large hill, Sugarloaf Mountain, while in front of the city was more pieces of land on which more buildings stood. A strip of beige ran in front of the main city and bordering it was the azure blue carpet of water from the ocean. The strip of beige was Copacabana Beach and it was Rio's main beach. Rio truly was a magnificent cityscape to gaze at, especially from a bird's eye view. Close to the city was a large jungle and it was about to come to life. As the sun continued rising into the sky to greet the day, a bright blue little bird, a honeycreeper in one of the trees began chirping. It then jumped off the branch and descended through some more trees, twittering away and performing a variety of acrobats like a corkscrew. The honeycreeper continued chirping and flying past more trees and logs. As it flew past these natural homes, some more birds popped their heads out of the holes. Then a drum-like beat filled the air as more birds walked out of their hollows to begin the morning dance. Then a few seconds later, the jungle's air erupted into song.

Jungle residents: Yaaa, ya-ya-yaaa! Ya-ya-yaaa, ya-ya-yaaa!

Within moments, birds of various species started dancing and singing as well as filling the air with an elaborate display of colour. There were macaws, honeycreepers, finches, toucans and many more exotic birds.

Jungle residents: All the birds of the feather... do what they love most of all...

In the air, a group of green-winged macaws were flapping and performing beautiful patterns with their blue and green wings.

Jungle residents: we are the best at rhythm and laughter, that's why we love Carnival...

A flock of toucans whirled about in the air and flew past more birds that also danced.

Jungle residents: Call so clear we can sing to... sun and nature's big moon... dance to the music, passion and love, show us the best you can do!

A flock of green parakeets and some other birds also danced on the branches. Black frigatebirds used their throat sacs like drums while rosette spoonbills in the pond at the floor of the jugnle also danced.

Jungle residents: Everyone here is on fire... get up and join in the fun... dance with a stranger, romance and danger, magic could happen for reee-al... in Ri-i-i-io... all by itself (itself)...you c-a-an't see... it co-o-oming, you can't find it anywhere else (anywhere else).

At this moment, a macaw with blue feathers flew into the scene (this is NOT Jewel). This macaw was a female and she was joined by another macaw, a darker blue male (this is NOT Blu) as they sang the next part of the song and whirled through the air.

The two blue macaws: It's reee-al... in Ri-i-io... and know something else (some jungle residents: something else)... you ca-a-an't feel... it happening... you can feel all by itself!

Then after the jungle residents, including the two blue macaws, had finished this line, everything settled down as the jungle birds then began their morning business. The two blue macaws began to make their way back to the nest. As the two blue macaws flew on, a male green-winged macaw flew up to them and smiled.

"You did very well, Clarinda and Erico," said the green-winged macaw, "You both really are getting better at dancing to the morning song."

"Thanks, Alvin," replied the male blue macaw, "Anyway, if you don't mind, we need to get back to our nest. Our eggs are getting cold."

"Oh yeah, you don't want the chicks in them suffering from the cold do you?" said Alvin the green-winged macaw with an amused smile, "Anyway, I'll see you two later. I look forward to seeing your chicks. Are the eggs due to hatch soon?"

"They are, yes," said the female blue macaw named Clarinda with a proud smile on her face, "It won't be long now until we're parents."

Just then Alvin heard his name get called by another green-winged macaw. At this, he looked up and saw a female calling for him.

"Oh aye, my mate Marina wants me," said Alvin, "I'll see you both later. Let us know when your eggs have hatched, okay?"

"Okay, we will," said the male macaw named Erico. And with that, Alvin broke away from the blue macaw couple and made a beeline for his mate, leaving Erico and Clarinda to continue their flight home and their nest. Erico and Clarinda were members of an extremely rare species of macaw called the Spix macaw. Their species was so rare in fact that the couple had never seen others, not even one, of their kind at all except for their families before moving into independence and having chicks of their own. However, some members of the community Erico and Clarinda lived in believed that there were other macaws like Erico and Clarinda deep in the rainforest. But that had never been confirmed as none of the birds had not ventured out into the Brazilian rainforest for fear of what dangers might lurk out there. Ever since Erico and Clarinda had met and become mates, they had moved to this part of the jungle and had had a clutch of three eggs a few weeks ago. Now the eggs were due to hatch. Erico and Clarinda did wonder whether or not there were other Spix macaws out there based on what some of their neighbours had told them and had hoped to venture out into the Amazon rainforest when their offspring were old enough but that dream was to wait for they had parental duties to take care of first, especially in the chicks' first few months of their life.

Erico was a handsome blue macaw. His feathers were a lush blue and he had a blue-white patch around each eye connected by a band over the top of his beak, giving him the appearance of wearing spectacles. His eyes were a shade of blue and he had a stocky build. His crest was a small ruffle on the back of his head. Clarinda, his mate, was shorter. She had brilliant maya blue feathers and a slender build. Like Erico she had separate eye patches but no band over the top of her beak connecting the two. Clarinda's eyes were a shade of amber and she had a rather unusual crest. While most macaws had one set of feathers on their head, Clarinda had two separate clusters of feathers on either side of her head. These feathers were quite long and when let down they flopped about all over the place. However, Clarinda had tied each of these feather clusters up with a vine to prevent this for she felt silly with her two sets of head feathers flopping about all over the place. Her crest feathers resembled pigtails when tied up and it was possible that some of Clarinda's ancestors had had this type of crest and it was possible that at least one of the chicks might inherit it, especially if the chick is a daughter. The two macaws continued flying back to their tree. Around them several species of bird including various species of macaws were flying around. Some were foraging, some were chatting and a few were teaching their chicks to fly. Erico smiled as he watched a couple of parakeets cheer for their chicks as they flew into the air for the first time in their lives, chirping happily and looked forward to seeing the thrilled faces on his and Clarinda's own chicks when they were ready to take their first flight. As the two blue macaws flew through the trees, their home tree finally emerged into view. The hollow in which Erico and Clarinda lived in was not too high and not too low, but it was high enough to provide a brilliant view of the jungle and its inhabitants. Erico and Clarinda had struggled to find a suitable hollow to make their nest in. they didn't want the hollow to be too low or too high, especially for the chicks but after a series of countless choices, they finally found the right one and settled in to it. Erico and Clarinda then approached the hollow and entered into it. As soon as they had done this, Clarinda made a beeline for the nest, which was constructed out of moss, twigs and downy feathers and contained three white orbs, and settled into it to keep the eggs warm. Erico then checked another compartment of the hollow for any fruit and realised that the compartment, which he and Clarinda used to store food, was empty.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to go out and forage for some fruit, Clarinda," said Erico after he looked into the room, "We're out of fruit."

He then walked over to his mate who had just settled into the nest and asked, "What would you like, meu amore?"

"Oh, I would like a mango, a passion fruit and some berries please," said Clarinda. Erico smiled and prepared to fly out to look for Clarinda's requests. Before leaving, he looked down at the three eggs under Clarinda's feathers. He then slung a wing around her back and she leaned against his chest.

"You know something," crooned Erico lovingly, "It won't be long until we're parents now. Our eggs could hatch any moment."

"Yep," said Clarinda in agreement. Erico then removed his wing from Clarinda's back, gave his mate a briefly kiss and walked over to the hollow entrance.

"I'll be as quick as I can," said Erico as he spread his wings, "And we'll consider restocking that fruit storage room as well."

"Okay, I'll see you soon," said Clarinda as Erico disappeared from the hollow. A minute later, Erico was browsing a mango tree. As he did that, one of the community members, a green toucanet, greeted him.

"Hi, Alfred," said Erico as he found and picked a ripe mango, "How are you and your family doing?"

"Oh, fine thanks," said the toucanet named Alfred, "Hey, you know you and Clarinda are part of a rare species of macaw, right?"

"Yes," asked Erico slightly confused.

"Well, there is a family of another extremely rare species of macaw living somewhere around here," said Alfred, "They're Lear's macaws and they are called Thomas and Lola. Their clutch of four eggs had just hatched into three sons and a daughter. I think you and Clarinda ought to meet that family of Lear's macaws sometime..."

"Maybe later but not now," said Erico, "Now if you don't mind, my mate will be expecting my return with the food and our three eggs could hatch any time."

"Okay, I'll let you get on with your foraging," said Alfred and with that he turned and flew away.

"I'll see you again later," called Alfred as he left. Erico sighed and continued his foraging task. A while later, he had picked a few berries, two passion fruit and a papaya and as soon as he had collected enough, he flew off back to his hollow where Clarinda and his unborn chicks were waiting. However, he was in for a surprise. As the hollow emerged into view through the trees, he heard Clarinda's excited voice cry out to him.

"Erico, Erico," cried Clarinda excitedly, "You'd better come in here now!"

At this, Erico, who had his beak and talons full of fruit, accelerated toward the hollow and entered it. As he dropped the fruit onto the floor, Clarinda said, "Our eggs are about to hatch! I saw one of them rock slightly."

Erico quickly walked over to the nest and stood by it. Clarinda joined him. However, as Erico looked at the three eggs, all he saw were three stationary orbs.

"Are you sure you saw one of them move?" he asked.

"I'm sure I did," said Clarinda. Then suddenly, one of the white spheres jerked slightly and a few faint chirps began to sound. An excited smile crept onto Erico's beak while Clarinda jumped up and down and whimpered ecstatically. Erico then put a wing around his mate's back and watched as the first egg began to make more movements and sounds. Seconds later, a crack appeared in the shell. This crack branched and the branches grew longer and longer until a piece of shell fell from where the cracks converged and met. A hole was then formed at that spot and a tip of a tiny beak was visible through the tiny hole. Erico and Clarinda smiled as the hole then grew, resulting in more shards of shell falling. Then a few seconds later, the entire egg split open and out popped a baby chick, naked and helpless. Clarinda, with her eyes slitted with excitement, reached into the nest and scooped up the newly hatched chick. She then cradled it in her wings.

"It's a girl," crooned Clarinda to Erico.

"Can I hold her?" asked Erico. Clarinda then handed the female chick to him and Erico cradled his new daughter in his wings. Just then the second egg began to rock and crack. A hole formed in the top of the shell and widened and eventually, the entire egg split open, revealing another naked and helpless chick. Clarinda picked up this one and cradled it too. It was another girl. Then finally, the third egg hatched, revealing the third chick of the brood, also a girl. Clarinda also scooped up the third chick and cradled her too. As the blue macaw couple cradled their three new daughters, Erico said, "We now have to name them."

"Of course, I haven't forgotten that," tittered Clarinda with a smile on her face. She and Erico then placed the three chicks back into the soft moss and feathers of the nest and began to think of what to name them.

"I know," said Erico, "Why don't I name one and you name the other two?"

"That sounds like a plan," said Clarinda. She then looked at the oldest daughter and said, "I'm going to name the firstborn Izzy after my mother Isobelle, and the second born chick Flo after my cousin Florence."

"Those are such sweet names, Clarinda," said Erico with a smile. He then turned to the youngest chick and smiled.

"What are you going to name the youngest chick, Erico?" asked Clarinda. Erico gazed into the youngest chick's eyes as the baby bird looked up at him. She had amber eyes like Clarinda while the other two had their eyes still closed.

"I think I'll name our youngest girl Venus," crooned Erico, "After the second planet in the solar system. When my father took me, my older brother and my cousin out stargazing when we were adolescents, we saw a vividly bright star-like object in the sky after the sun had gone down and we heard from a group of humans who were also out stargazing that the bright object was called Venus, a planet and I thought 'what a nice name'."

"You must have been an avid stargazer when you were younger," said Clarinda with a smile.

"I was," said Erico, "I've always loved stargazing. Maybe when our girls become old enough we could take them out stargazing too."

"I would love that," said Clarinda with a smile, "I remember when you took me out stargazing when we were getting together."

Erico smiled at the memories of taking Clarinda on nights out to look at the stars with her. Then the macaw couple gazed down at their three daughters now named Izzy, Flo and Venus as they continued fidgeting in the nest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- Izzy, Flo and Venus's first flight, and the question on the possibility of other Spix and Lear's macaws**

A few months later, Erico and Clarinda's three daughters, Izzy, Flo and Venus, had grown into three beautiful chicks. They had gained feathers as they grew and had been constantly fed by their parents who never neglected them. Whenever the three sisters were hungry which they indicated to their parents with cries and chirps, Erico and Clarinda responded by foraging for food and bringing them to their chicks. It was demanding but it was also fulfilling. Erico and Clarinda clearly enjoyed being parents but as the three chicks grew, they looked forward to introducing them to the next milestone in their lives: their first flight. When the day finally came for the chicks to take their first flight, their flight feathers having fully grown on their wings, Erico and Clarinda had taken them to a branch on the tree in which they lived which will be the take off point for the three sisters. Erico and Clarinda's friends, Alvin the green-winged macaw and his mate Marina had come to watch Erico and Clarinda's three daughters take their first flight. Alvin and Marina had a brood of two adolescent chicks, a son and a daughter. Perched next to the green-winged macaw family were the Lear's macaw family, Thomas and his mate Lola together with their four chicks: three sons and a daughter. Between Izzy, Flo and Venus's hatching and now, Erico and Clarinda had met Thomas and his family and had become friends with them, and Erico had introduced the Lear's macaw family to their three daughters, and Thomas had immediately taken a liking to Izzy, Flo and Venus for he had never seen Spix macaw chicks before.

Like Erico and Clarinda and their three daughters, Thomas and his family were part of an extremely rare species of macaw, the Lear's macaw. Both Thomas and Lola had very dark blue feathers but the feathers on their faces and chests were tinted with dark teal, a characteristic all Lear's macaws had though in a few individuals, the greenish tinge is sometimes hard to see. Thomas and Lola's eyes were bordered by orange-yellow rings of skin and their lower mandible was adorned with a large piece of orange-yellow skin called a lappet. Both Thomas and Lola had a slender build and both had small crests resembling a tassel. Thomas's had three feathers while Lola's had two. Thomas's eyes were shade of grey while Lola's eyes were blue. All four of their chicks looked like a spitting image of their parents. All four had a slender build and all the features of a Lear's macaw including the eye rings and beak lappet. All four chicks also had a tassel-like crest consisting of two or three feathers. Two of the sons and the daughter had blue eyes like Lola their mother while the third son had grey eyes like his father Thomas. Because the four siblings look so alike and very much like their parents, they were sometimes called quads by most of the other birds in the community since they were sometimes hard to tell apart. The four chicks of Thomas and Lola were slightly older than Izzy, Flo and Venus though they were born on the same day as them, but they had only just learned to fly a couple of days ago. In the same way that Erico and Clarinda had not seen other Spix macaws than their own families and their chicks, Thomas, Lola and their offspring had not seen other Lear's macaws at all. However, Thomas and Lola had hoped that there were other Lear's macaws out there and had planned to venture out into the Amazon to search for other Lear's macaws once their chicks become old enough, a plan Erico and Clarinda had in mind to search for more Spix macaws as soon as their three daughters become old enough as well.

The six Lear's macaws stood by the family of four green-winged macaws with their eyes fixed on Erico and Clarinda as they continued talking to Izzy, Flo and Venus about flight. The three sisters stood on the branch they will take off from with Erico and Clarinda perched on another branch before them. Then Erico and Clarinda began to explain to the three sisters about how the feathers on their wings were essential for allowing flight. Erico and Clarinda believed that the ability to fly was one of the most magical abilities to exist in nature though they knew that not all bird types could fly, such as the rhea, a flightless bird. As Erico and Clarinda continued explaining flight, Izzy, Flo and Venus watched intently. The three chicks had indeed grown and their features which they had inherited from their father and mother had become obvious. Izzy, the oldest sister, appeared to have inherited most of her features from Erico. Her eyes were a shade of blue but they were brighter and she had his spec-like facial markings (separate eye patches connected by a band over the top of the beak). Her crest was similar to Erico's albeit smaller and she had inherited his stocky build. However, she was maya blue like her mother Clarinda. Flo, the second oldest sister and middle daughter, was also maya blue and resembled Clarinda quite a bit. She had inherited Clarinda's separate eye patches which lacked the band over the top of her beak, as well as Clarinda's amber eyes and slender build. However, she had inherited Erico's crest, a small ruffle on the back of her head like Izzy's. Venus, the youngest daughter, looked a lot like Clarinda. Like her sisters, her feathers were maya blue but unlike her sisters who had a small feather ruffle like Erico, Venus had inherited Clarinda's unusual double crest but due to her age they were only two tufts. The feathers will grow longer as she grows older. Venus's eyes were amber like her mother's and she had inherited Erico's spec-like facial markings. Venus also had a slender build like Flo and Clarinda.

As soon as Erico had finished explaining flight to the sisters, it was time for the three to take their first flight. Clarinda and Erico then flew over to the end of the branch while Alvin, Thomas and their families moved closer to both watch and prepare to catch the chicks should they fall.

"Right, are you girls ready?" said Erico with a smile on his face, "Who would like to go first?"

The three sisters began to discuss among themselves.

"You go first Flo," said Izzy.

"You're the eldest," muttered Flo with a frown, "You go first."

Venus, however, said nothing. Clarinda then stepped in.

"Why don't we all do this together instead?" she asked, "Therefore we'll have no arguing. Your uncles Alvin and Thomas have come to watch you take your first flight but I'm sure they can help."

Though Alvin and Thomas and their families were completely unrelated to Erico and his family, since they were friends of his, Erico had decided to allow them to be like uncles, aunts and cousins to Izzy, Flo and Venus. The three daughters then looked up at their mother as Alvin then perched by them.

"I think that's a good idea, Clarinda," he said. He then turned and looked at the three Spix macaw chicks and said, "Right, who would like to learn to fly under our guide?"

"I will, uncle Alvin," said Izzy excitedly and with that she bounced over to her green-winged macaw uncle's side. Flo then opted to learn to fly under Thomas's care and walked over to the Lear's macaw male, leaving only Venus with Clarinda and Erico. As soon as the group was ready, Erico said, "Right, let's go."

Within moments, Izzy, Venus and Flo were perched apart along the branch, ready to take their first flight. Alvin, Lola and their son and daughter prepared to catch Izzy should she fall while Thomas, Lola and their three sons and daughter prepared to take action should Flo fall. In the middle of the two groups of birds, Clarinda and Erico prepared to watch Venus take off and fly.

"Mom, Dad," asked Venus, "How do we actually fly?"

Erico let loose a slight titter of amusement in response to this question.

"I'm afraid it's too complicated, Venus," he replied, "One of Thomas and Lola's sons, Mercury asked his parents that same question and they replied to him they don't know, so we don't know."

"It's just an ability we macaws have," said Clarinda, "The nitty-gritty of it I'm afraid is beyond what we know about flight. All you need to know is how to use your wings to fly."

Venus looked back at Clarinda with a curious look on her face. She wanted to know how macaws and other flying creatures fly but knew that she wouldn't be able to get an explanation from any of the residents around here. The mechanics of flight was likely to be a human subject. Forgetting the question, Venus prepared to take her first flight. However, she was very nervous.

"All you have to do is step into the air and flap your wings," said Erico, "But don't worry, we will not let you plummet all the way to the forest floor. If you fall too far, we will catch you."

"Dad," Venus murmured, "Does this mean I have to jump off this branch."

"Oh, no, my daughter," said Erico, "That wouldn't be a good idea. It would actually be quite dangerous. The better idea is to step into the air and drop off the branch, but like I've said before, if you fall too far, we will catch you."

Venus gulped. She was clearly nervous and it was not surprising. It was the first time she had ever done something like this. Clarinda smiled.

"You know something, when I was your age," she said, "I was very nervous as well when I took my first flight but once you take your first flight, all that nervousness will be gone."

Venus looked up at Clarinda and then prepared to make the drop. She spread her wings and closed her eyes. She did not want to look down and see the massive drop.

"Take your time," said Erico patiently. Venus did so. At first, she hesitated but then she raised a talon into the air and allowed herself to drop off the branch. As soon as Venus was in the air, she gasped as a wave of panic washed over her and she began flapping her wings and flailing in the air. As she fell through the air, Clarinda and Erico swooped down after her. Both parents called to Venus to flap her wings. Venus continued flailing and plummeting through the air but before Clarinda could swoop down and catch her, Venus felt the air rush over her wings as her body tilted down with her head facing the ground. At this moment, she flapped her wings and was pulled out of the dive as the force of lift caught her wings. Then within moments, Venus flew upwards and realised she was flying. She cried and squealed with joy and flew to the cheers of her mother and father.

"Well done, Venus," said Erico ecstatically, "You've managed to achieve your first flight on your first try. It took me three tries to fly for the first time."

Venus then flew around and was joined by Clarinda and Erico who flew around her and congratulated her. Nearby the three macaws, squeals and cries of joy also sounded from another female chick. Flo had managed to fly for the first time as well and was being congratulated by Thomas and Lola. Then seconds later, Izzy's cries of joy were heard as she flew around in the air as well with Alvin and Marina flying around her and congratulating her. Marina and Alvin's son and daughter also joined in the little celebratory dance. All three of Clarinda and Erico's daughters had taken their first flight. Like Venus, Izzy and Flo were very nervous but at the encouragement from Thomas, Lola, Alvin and Marina and also their 'cousins', they went ahead and managed to pull out of the drop before they could fall too far which would mean the adult macaws flying in and catching them. And as soon as Izzy and Flo were in the air, their panic had been replaced by joy and they began to fly around together and with their younger sister Venus.

As Izzy, Flo and Venus flew around together with Alvin, Marina, their son and daughter, Clarinda and Erico, Thomas, Lola and their four chicks joined in. Izzy, Flo and Venus then began to playfully chase each other around a few nearby branches before joining the other macaws to continue their celebratory dance. Then after the group of macaws had calmed down and had perched onto the branch Izzy, Flo and Venus had taken off from, Erico began to congratulate his daughters.

"Well, I'd like to congratulate you three on taking your first flight, my daughters," he said to Izzy, Flo and Venus, "I think as a reward, we are going to have a group lunch."

At this, the three sisters cheered delightfully while Alvin and Marina's son and daughter and the four chicks of Thomas and Lola, one of whom as named Mercury, smiled.

"I think that's an excellent idea, Erico," said Thomas with a smile. Erico then turned to Thomas, Lola, Alvin and Marina and said, "And I would like to thank you four for helping us teach our three girls to fly."

"You are welcome," said Alvin, proud to have helped, "We help each other as friends should."

"I think if you ever decide on having a second brood of chicks," said Clarinda, "Allow us to help you to teach them how to fly when their time comes."

"We'll see about that," said Marina, Alvin's mate, "We don't have any plans on having a second brood just yet."

"But if we do decide, we're more than happy for you two to help us teach our chicks to fly," said Alvin, "Just like how we helped with yours."

Erico smiled as Lola, Thomas's mate then spoke up.

"Are we going to go for lunch then?" she asked, "I'm getting hungry and our chicks Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley are pestering us for something to eat."

It was true. The four chicks, Jackie, Chico and Mercury (the sons of Thomas and Lola) and Ashley (the daughter of Thomas and Lola) were complaining of hunger. They were clearly ready for something to eat. Alvin and Marina's two adolescent chicks were also getting hungry. Seeing the begging looks on his son and daughter's faces, Alvin said, "I kind of agree, actually. Our own two chicks are getting hungry too. I think it's time for a lunch break."

"Right," said Erico who was ready for a foraging trip, "What would each of you like, our dears?"

He asked Clarinda, Lola and Marina the question. Thomas and Alvin stood beside him.

"I would like a mango please," replied Clarinda.

"Can you get me two strawberry guavas," said Lola.

"I would like some guavas too," said Marina. Erico, Alvin and Thomas smiled.

"Coming right up," Erico smile he then turned to the chicks.

"What would you kids like?" asked Erico. The chicks all gave their answer but Izzy, Venus and Flo didn't know what they would like.

"Could we just have a selection of fruit please, Dad?" asked Izzy, "We really don't know what we'd like at all."

Venus and Flo nodded in agreement.

"We'll see what we can find, my daughters then," said Erico with a smile on his beak. Next to the three Spix macaw sisters, the Lear's and green-winged macaw chicks had made their choices and had told their dads what specific fruit they would like. Then as soon as the three dads were ready, Erico, Thomas and Alvin took off to start foraging.

"We'll be right back, our dears," said Alvin as he followed Erico and Thomas, "We won't be long."

"Okay, see you," said Marina as she, Lola and Clarinda began to watch over the chicks while the fathers were away. And within moments, Erico, Thomas and Alvin disappeared behind some trees.

A while later, Erico, Thomas and Alvin had returned with the fruit and soon the three macaw families were eating. They ate together as Erico promised. While they were eating, Venus was curious once again, this time about something else.

"Hey, Dad, Mom," she said to Erico and Clarinda after she swallowed a berry, "Are there any other macaws like us?"

"What do you mean, my daughter?" asked Erico. Then Clarinda understood Venus's question.

"Do you mean macaws specifically like me, your father, you and your sisters?" she asked. Venus nodded. Clarinda shrugged.

"We have no idea," Clarinda said, "But as far as we know, my family, your father's family and you three are the only macaws Erico and I have seen so far."

"None of the members of the community have seen other Spix macaws like you five, to be honest," said Alvin as he swallowed a piece of mango, "You five are the only Spix macaws we know. The same is true for Thomas, Lola and their four Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley being the only Lear's macaws we know."

"I think that's very worrying really," said Thomas glumly as he ate a piece of papaya fruit, "If the Lear's and the Spix macaws are so rare and hard to find, what are our kids going to do when they grow up and decide to finds mates and have chicks of their own?"

"They'd have little or, even more sadly, no chance of finding someone to settle down with at all," said Lola in agreement. Clarinda also gave the same worried look as she glanced at Venus, Flo and Izzy and then at Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley who only responded with curious looks on their faces while they continued eating.

"Some of the community members around here believe that there could be more Spix macaws out in the Amazon, actually," said Alvin as he fed his son a piece of mango, "But I'm not sure about the Lear's macaw, though."

"Alfred the green toucanet told us that the Lear's macaw is apparently much rarer than the Spix macaw," said Alvin, "So I suppose the Lear's would be much harder to find than the Spix, but that's an assumption. I don't know."

This made Thomas, Lola and Clarinda's faces fall slightly. Erico, however, maintained a positive look on his face.

"Well, when our daughters become old enough," he said, "We're going to venture out into the Amazon rainforest and hopefully find more of our kind."

He then turned to Thomas and his family and said, "And I suggest you do the same, Thomas, when your four chicks become old enough. In fact, we'll venture into the Amazon together."

"But what if we never find more of our two rare species?" asked Thomas, his voice tinted with doubt.

"Well, it's worth a try," said Marina, "I'd suggest you lot go for it."

"I agree," said Alvin, "Since unlike us green-winged macaws which are relatively common and there are plenty of other green-wings living around here, both your species, being so rare, are less likely to be found around here but you might have a better chance of finding more of your species out in the Amazon..."

"You lot are the only Lear's and Spix macaws we know," said Marina, "We have never even sighted another Spix or Lear's macaw, not even one in fact, anywhere around here as far as we know."

"Don't tell us that we could be the last of both our species," muttered Clarinda. Alvin and Marina just gave the female Spix macaw a silent look, but the looks on their faces implied that that might be true. Erico, however, kept his determination.

"I don't think we are," he said hopefully, "I'm pretty sure there are more Spix and Lear's macaws out there. We just have to find them. Anyway, let's just finish our lunch. We'll see to that obstacle when we come to it."

And with that the families of Spix, Lear's and green-winged macaws returned to eating their meal. Then as soon as the group had finished, it was time for Thomas, Alvin and their families to return to their homes.

"Well, I'd like to congratulate your daughters for taking their first flight today, Erico," said Alvin as he hugged Erico and Clarinda, "And I hope you five have a nice afternoon and evening."

Marina also hugged Clarinda and Erico while Alvin and Marina's son and daughter hugged Izzy, Venus and Flo, also congratulating them on their first flight. Then Thomas and Lola hugged Erico and Clarinda while Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley hugged Izzy and her two sisters. After Thomas broke the hug with Erico, he said, "We're planning on taking our four chicks to see the human city of Rio de Janeiro in a few days time. Would you like to come with us?"

"Oh, we'd love to," said Erico with a smile, "At least we'll introduce our three chicks to what a human city looks like."

This reply planted a question into Izzy, Venus and Flo's heads.

"What's a human city, Uncle Thomas?" asked Izzy. Thomas turned and looked at her.

"You'll see what one is when we come to take you and your family out, Izzy," he said, "But now is not the time. We have things to do."

Izzy sighed and obliged to wait, but she still wanted to see what a human city looked like. Venus and Flo also had that same desire. Then Thomas felt it was time to go home. After calling his three sons and daughter, he and Lola prepared to fly back to their hollow.

"Well, we'll see you next time, Erico and Clarinda," said Thomas as he prepared to take off, "And we'll come to your hollow when we are ready to go and see Rio."

"Again, congrats on your three daughters taking their first flight," said Lola with a smile. And with that, the Lear's macaw family took off and flew away into the trees.

"Thanks and goodbye, my Lear's friends," called Erico but the Lear's macaw family was already out of earshot. Then Alvin and his family prepared to leave for their hollow too. After saying goodbye and congratulating Erico and Clarinda on their three daughters' first flight again, the green-winged family of four left and flew off in the direction of their hollow, remaining only the Spix macaw family. Clarinda then turned to Erico and smiled.

"Well, what would you like to do next, dear?" she asked. Erico looked at Izzy, Flo and Venus and said, "I think we'll relax for the rest of the day and also take these three on short outings to exercise their flight muscles. Anyway, let's go back to our hollow."

And with that, the family of five Spix macaws flew off back to their hollow to enjoy the rest of the day together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- A glimpse of the cityscape of Rio and tragedy strikes**

A few days after Izzy, Flo and Venus had learned to fly; the Spix macaw family and the Lear's macaw family were flying through the trees together. Thomas and his mate Lola flew alongside Erico, Clarinda and their three daughters with their four chicks Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley flying closely behind them. The five blue macaws and the six Lear's macaws were on their way to the spot where the human city of Rio could be seen. Izzy, Flo, Venus, Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley had only been told about Rio and other human places by their parents which included descriptions of what cities looked like and how the air above cities smelt. The seven chicks had never seen a human city before but this trip out will provide them with the opportunity to see one for the first time. As the group of eleven birds flew along, Izzy was curious.

"Dad, have you ever been in a city before?" she asked. Erico looked at her with a frown.

"No I haven't and neither have your mother, your uncle Thomas and your aunt Lola, Izzy," replied Erico.

"Cities may be a spectacular sight from a very safe distance," put in Thomas, "But up close and actually in them, the story is different entirely."

"What's in a city?" asked Flo.

"Dangerous creatures," replied Erico darkly, "Domestic animals such as dogs... and those pesky four-legged pests that have us on their menu called cats. My brother was almost killed by one of those furballs when we actually entered that city when I was your age and since then, we've stayed out of that place. There are also some other domesticated animals in there that could also be dangerous to us."

"Not to mention the humans themselves," said Clarinda, "They're often bad news. Some of them that we've observed have been no harm. They were just visiting the jungle, but there are some others that we should steer completely clear of."

"And what humans are those?" asked Venus who flew alongside Mercury and his mother Lola. Lola turned and frowned at Venus.

"Smugglers," she said darkly, "They're humans who intrude into the jungle and catch us and other animals to take away. I lost my entire family to that bunch of pesky thieves and had been taken in by Thomas's family."

"And when those pesky humans intrude into our beloved home to catch us in the things they call nets," added Erico, "The entire community always erupts into chaos. And whenever that happens, it is important that we get to safety."

Izzy, Flo and Venus looked at each other and at Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley. The seven chicks had never even encountered smugglers before and based on these comments, they hoped never to encounter such humans at all. The small flock of eleven birds continued flying through the trees until Erico gave the signal to perch onto one. The little flock did so and as soon as all eleven birds were on the branch, Erico said, "This, kids, is Rio de Janeiro."

And with that he gestured to the cityscape. Izzy, Flo, Venus, Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley all looked out at the city with eyes inflated with awe and wonder. It truly was a spectacular sight. Spread out before the group of macaws was a carpet of white, brown or grey blocky structures Erico explained to the seven chicks were called buildings. In front of the cityscape was the glistening azure blue surface of the ocean and it boarded the city and stretched well into the horizon. A thin strip of sandy beige divided the blue ocean from the grey swathe or roads and buildings. This was a beach called Copacabana beach. Standing high on a hill overlooking the city was a grey figure with its arms open wide.

"What's that thing, Dad?" asked Venus.

"That's the Christ the Redeemer statue," replied Erico, "It's the landmark of Rio. Don't ask me why the humans who have built this city had built that because I don't know."

"I didn't know humans could build such awesome structures," said Izzy in awe.

"Oh, yeah," said Thomas, "Those things are what most humans call home. Unlike our homes which are natural, their homes have to be built. The only humans we know to live in a natural environment are the indigenous Amazon humans. Dad told us about them when we were chicks."

The seven chicks looked up at him in wonder. Then they returned to their gaze on the cityscape of Rio. The seven chicks hoped to visit the city someday but Erico and Thomas as well as Clarinda and Lola had strictly forbidden that idea and had told them to perish it. It was too dangerous, they told them, and the last thing they wanted was any of the chicks running into danger, especially cats which almost all macaws called four-legged pests since they were often a natural enemy of birds and would not hesitate to make a meal out of them. The Spix and Lear's macaw families continued talking and staring out into the cityscape of Rio and the bordering ocean for a few more hours until finally, Erico felt that it was time to head back into the jungle. The sun was creeping closer toward the horizon opposite the city of Rio and it was getting near sunset.

"Well, I think it's time we head back, folks, don't you think?" said Erico with a smile.

"Yep," said Thomas, "It's coming close to our four chicks' bedtime."

As he said this, the seven chicks groaned.

"Oh, can we stay here for a little longer, please?" asked Izzy.

"We love it up here," added Jackie. The other five chicks, Flo, Venus, Mercury, Ashley and Chico also muttered in agreement but the parents were adamant.

"I'm afraid we can't, you seven," said Clarinda, "It's almost your bed time. Can you seven get prepared for the flight back please?"

The seven chicks reluctantly did so and as soon as the two families were ready, off they flew from the branch. As the eleven macaws flew back into their home, Clarinda said, "I think we ought to take our chicks out stargazing when they become old enough to stay up late, Erico. Introduce our kids to the stars."

"I think that's an excellent idea, my love," said Erico with a smile, "But only when they are old enough."

"I like stargazing too," said Thomas, "When Lola and I were getting to know each other we used to go out looking at the Milky Way when it was very clear and cloudless. That sea of stars is spectacular if you're in a dark place away from a city at night."

"That's one of the problems with human cities," said Erico, "The light from their buildings often swamp the stars and it is sometimes hard to see any stars at all."

As he said this, Venus looked up at him.

"What are starry skies like, Dad?" she asked. Erico turned to her and smiled.

"I'll tell you later, Venus," he said gently, "Let's just get home, have some dinner and get you three prepared for bed."

Venus just sighed and continued flying on. She often wondered what a clear dark night would look like but because she, Izzy and Flo were still too young to stay up late, she was a little frustrated. Thomas and Lola's chicks, Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley on the other hand, did not seem bothered in stargazing that much. Then the group of eleven macaws continued flying on in the direction of their home. However, the little group of macaws were in for a horrifying shock. As the familiarity of their home melted into view, the family of five Spix macaws and the family of six Lear's macaws were met by a massive maelstrom of feathered comets of various colours whizzing through the air. Accompanying the storm were panicked squawks and screeches. At this, Erico became curious.

"What's going on?" he asked Clarinda, Thomas and Lola. The other three macaws only shrugged their shoulders. Then Erico flew on to try and ask one of the escaping birds what was happening.

"Excuse, me, can you..." began Erico with a toucan but the toucan took no notice of him and shot away. Erico then tried asking a parakeet but it too shot away. Erico then tried with several more birds but all he got was no answer for the birds were too panicked to even stop and talk to him for a second. Erico let loose a sigh of frustration. He wanted to know what was causing the chaos. Not too far away, Clarinda, Thomas, Lola and the seven chicks continued to hover there as Erico flew back to them, having given up trying to ask one of the birds.

"Have you tried talking to one of the birds?" asked Thomas. Erico, with an angry look on his face, shook his head. Clarinda then deduced the possible reason behind the chaos.

"Could it be...?" she began when the eleven birds heard a familiar voice shout to them. At this, the families of Spix and Lear's macaws turned and looked at the source of the sound. It was then they saw a familiar red macaw with green and blue wings fly towards them. The macaw looked awfully panicked and his wings were beating furiously as he flew towards the group. It was Alvin, and he looked very panicked and frightened.

"Erico, Clarinda, Thomas, Lola," he shouted as he continued flapping madly towards Erico, Thomas and their mates and chicks, "Oh, thank goodness."

As soon as he had approached them, he stopped into a hover to catch his breath.

"What's going on?" asked Erico. Alvin continued breathing heavily until he finally regained enough control of his breath to speak.

"You must get out of here now," he said, "Take your chicks and get to safety. There's not a moment to lose."

"Why?" asked Thomas, "Why do we need to get out of here?"

But nothing could prepare the four adult macaws for what Alvin gave in his reply.

"Smugglers," spat Alvin with eyes full of fright, "There are smugglers afoot and they are using nets to catch various bird species to take away. That is why all these birds are escaping. I have just helped my mate Marina get our two adolescent chicks and her family to safety but I have flown back here to find you lot to warn you."

After Alvin said this, Erico and Thomas's eyes widened with fear as panic exploded through their bodies as fast as the feathered comets flying from the trees. It was then they heard several panicked squawks from some of the birds. At this, Thomas, Erico, Lola and Clarinda turned and to their horror, they saw several birds plummet towards the forest floor with something ensnaring their feet and wings. These birds were crying out for help as they fell through the trees. Izzy, Flo, Venus, Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley cried in terror when they saw those birds fall. It was then that Thomas and Erico whipped round and looked at their respective mates.

"Clarinda, get Izzy, Venus and Flo and let's get out of here," said Erico quickly, "There are smugglers afoot!"

Clarinda nodded and immediately picked up Izzy, Flo and Venus in her talons. Thomas said the same thing to Lola and she grabbed Jackie, Chico, Mercury and Ashley in her talons as well.

"And make sure that you do get out of here fast," said Alvin seriously, "If those smugglers see you, they'll not hesitate to fire a net at you to catch you for you are rare birds. Now let's GO!"

And with that, the group of macaws began to make a break for it. All around them, dozens of birds were exploding from the trees and flying into the air as more nets chased after them. Some managed to dodge the nets but some others were not so lucky and were caught. It was then that Alvin and Thomas, Erico and their mates and chicks were caught in the storm of feathered comets as they erupted from the trees nearest to them. As the comets flew through the air, the green-winged macaw and the two adult Lear's and two adult Spix macaws were forced to dodge this way and that to avoid being hit. Thomas even grabbed Lola with a talon to quickly pull her out of the path of an incoming parakeet. Lola and Clarinda kept a firm grip on the seven chicks as they continued dodging the feathered missiles.

"Hang on, chicks," cried Lola and Clarinda as they kept a tight grip on their offspring. The seven chicks obeyed and held on tightly as their mothers continued dodging more incoming missiles.

"Let's get out of here," cried Alvin and with that, he began to lead the Spix and Lear's macaw families out of the storm cloud.

"Did you hear any warning signs that those smugglers were afoot, Alvin?" asked Erico as he continued avoiding more birds as they rocketed by.

"No," said Erico, "We were taken by surprise and before we even knew it, everything was thrown into pandemonium. We've just GOT to get out of here."

No sooner had he said this when a POW was heard, alongside a cry of a female macaw and some screams from four baby macaws.

"LOLA!" cried Thomas's voice. At this, Erico, Clarinda and Alvin turned to see, to their horror, Lola falling out of the air with Thomas diving down after her. Around Lola, the four chicks were also falling. Lola looked in pain and was clasping her stomach with her eyes tight shut. She looked like she had been hit by one of the flying comets and knocked out of the air. Furthermore, the impact had stunned her into dropping her chicks. Without a second's hesitation, Clarinda, Erico and Alvin dived down after the Lear's macaw couple as they fell through the air. Alvin quickly began to gather up the scattered chicks but he had only managed to catch two of the four chicks, Jackie and Mercury. Then something even worse happened. While Clarinda who still had a firm grip on Izzy, Flo and Venus, continued diving after Erico, Thomas and the hurt Lola, a spider-web shaped object flew towards her and wrapped around her body, wings, talons and her chicks. at this, Clarinda let loose a cry of shock and before she knew it, she was falling out of the air. At this, she cried for Erico while the three chicks screamed. Clarinda's panicked cries reached the ears of her mate and Erico whipped round to see Clarinda and his three daughters, who had been caught in a net, plummet towards the forest floor.

"CLARINDA!" cried Erico and with that, he shot off after her to rescue her. Alvin, who still had Jackie and Mercury, followed. Clarinda, Izzy, Flo and Venus continued falling through the air until they finally landed on a patch of moss with a 'whumph'. Around them, other caught birds also rained down and landed on the forest floor. Clarinda then began to writhe in the net's thread just as Erico, Alvin, Thomas and the hurt Lola arrived.

"Clarinda," cried Erico as he rushed toward her. He then began to inspect the thread as Clarinda writhed in it. Then Alvin who still had Mercury and Jackie in his talons, said, "I know, use your beak to bite out of the thread!"

Then without hesitation, Clarinda and Erico began to use their beaks to cut through the threads of the net. Around them, other birds that were also entangled in nets continued to writhe in them. While Erico and Clarinda continued biting through the net's threads to get Clarinda and her daughters (whose beaks were too small and weak to bite through the thread) free, Alvin, Thomas and Lola looked around to see another animal run in and pick up the captured birds. These animals had fur, walked on four legs and were part of a species nearly all birds knew to be their natural enemy that would often catch them for a meal. At this, Alvin let loose a snarl.

"Oh, these four-legged pests, honestly," he growled. Mercury and Jackie, frightened, hid behind him as Thomas jumped up at one and clawed it across the face as it dragged a caught yellow parakeet away. The four-legged mammal cried in shock, dropped the parakeet and left. Thomas then began to try and rescue the parakeet by also biting through the thread but he knew he didn't have time. It was then that Erico and Clarinda had managed to bite through enough of the net's threads for Clarinda, Izzy, Flo and Venus to get free.

"Right, let's get out of here," shouted Alvin as Erico quickly brushed off all the threads from Clarinda and his three daughters, "Thomas, you need to carry your mate."

However, Thomas was looking for someone else.

"Where are Chico and Ashley?" he cried, "Chico, Ashley, Chico?"

He began to look around for any signs of the two missing chicks but couldn't find any. Lola then struggled to her feet still grasping her struck stomach. Mercury and Jackie ran to her and helped her to her feet.

"Mom, are you okay?" asked Jackie. Lola didn't reply for she was in too much pain. Nearby, Thomas gave up his search for Ashley and Chico. It was just too dangerous to look for them now. Turning to Lola, Mercury and Jackie, he went over to her and prepared to pick Lola up in his talons. Erico and Clarinda also prepared to take flight, with Clarinda carrying Izzy, Flo and Venus, but before they could do so, something caught Clarinda's attention in the air and her eyes became glued to it, wide with fear. Lola's eyes also turned up and when she followed Clarinda's gaze, her eyes also widened with fear when she saw something too. Mercury and Jackie's eyes also landed on the something in the sky. Erico and Alvin became wary. Around them, more netted birds were being picked up and carried off by the four-legged creatures.

"Clarinda, what's wrong? We have to go," said Erico. When Clarinda didn't respond for she was too consumed with fear, he followed her gaze. Erico then gasped when he saw what Clarinda, Lola, Jackie and Mercury saw. In the sky hovered a white bird. This bird had a striking yellow crest which stood erect, a black beak and talons like those of a macaw and brown eyes full of scorn and intimidation (guess who!). The white creature's brown eyes were fixed onto Clarinda, Lola, Mercury and Jackie, and its beak was adorned with a sadistic smile. Lola, Jackie, Mercury and Clarinda stared back at the white bird with eyes full of fear. It was then that Thomas came in and looked up at the creature too. Erico then began to quietly and calmly tell Clarinda to rip her eyes away from the creature.

"Clarinda, come on, we have to go," he whispered. The fear-filled Clarinda, however, still kept her eyes transfixed on the white creature hovering above.

"Look, Clarinda," continued Erico in a low voice, "Just take your eyes off of that white bird and come with me."

Clarinda still remained transfixed on the white bird hovering above and did not reply. Alvin was getting more agitated as he saw more and more netted birds get carried off by the four-legged mammals.

"We have to go," he insisted. Clarinda continued staring at the white bird for a few more seconds until finally, panic exploded within her. Gripping Izzy, Flo and Venus tightly in her talons, she rocketed into the air. The moment she did this, the white parrot-like bird dived down like a falcon straight at the mother Spix macaw and her three daughters. Erico screeched.

"NO!" he cried and with that he rocketed at the white bird to stop it from attacking Clarinda but it was too late. The white bird had smashed into Clarinda and knocked her out of the air. The impact sent her three daughters scattering and plummeting towards the forest floor. Venus landed right next to one of the four-legged creatures. That creature picked her up and carried her away. She began to scream and cry for help but the creature told her to shut up. Back in the air, Erico had landed on the white bird's back and began to viciously attack it but the white bird retaliated. The white bird and the blue macaw then began to engage in a brutal aerial battle. Alvin, Thomas, Lola, Jackie and Mercury watched the horrifying sight as Erico and the white bird slashed their talons at each other and ripped out each other's feathers. Then after a few more seconds of fighting, it turned out that the white bird was more than a match for Erico. The white bird, which was covered in scratch wounds and ripped out feathers, then grabbed Erico who also had scratches marking his body, by the neck with one of its talons. Erico gagged as the bird's talon wrapped around his neck so tightly that he began choking. He then found himself looking into the eyes of the white bird. Those brown eyes were burning with an intensely sadistic scorn and mockery.

"Pretty birds sure... are... VERMIN!" crooned the wicked white bird evilly. Erico gazed into its eyes with utter horror. And with that, the white bird powerfully flung the Spix macaw toward a tree with all its might. Alvin, Thomas and Lola watched in horror as Erico screamed as he flew through the air. Then that scream was cut off as Erico bashed against a tree trunk before slumping down the tree and landing on the floor in front of Alvin, Lola, Jackie, Mercury and Thomas. Alvin immediately rushed over to Erico and began to shake him awake.

"Erico, wake up!" cried Alvin. However, Erico did not stir. Up in the air, the white bird began to let loose a maniacal cackle. This cackle sent shivers down Lola and Thomas's spines and they looked up at the cackling white bird. Mercury and Jackie whimpered in fear. Alvin continued shaking Erico awake and calling his name but still he got no answer. Then it immediately dawned upon Alvin and he was overcome with despair.

"No, no, NOOOOO!" cried Alvin at the top of his voice. It was then that Thomas spoke to him.

"We'd better get out of here now," he said. At this, Alvin dropped Erico's lifeless body and then looked up at the white bird. The white bird's brown eyes were fixed upon him and the Lear's macaws, burning with a sadistic mockery. The look sent panic exploding through Lola's body. Screaming at the top of her lungs, Lola spread her wings and shot away. Thomas quickly followed but as he flew after his mate, the white bird immediately swooped down towards him and attacked him. Mercury and Jackie attempted to follow their parents but before they could do so, a couple of paws appeared and grabbed the two Lear's macaw chicks straight out of the air. Then Mercury and Jackie found themselves being carried off by one of the four-legged mammals but as they were carried off, they heard the sounds of agonized cries erupting from a Lear's macaw.

"DAAAAD!" screamed Mercury as he writhed in the creature's paw but the creature kept a firm grip on him. Jackie also writhed in the furry creature's paw but he too was held tightly. Mercury and Jackie continued screaming for their parents but the creature that carried them told them to shut up. Then the next thing Mercury and Jackie knew was they were tossed into some sort of containers made with metal slabs and bars. Mercury was thrown into one cage while Jackie was thrown into another. As soon as Mercury recovered after being tossed into the container (called a cage) and the four-legged creature locked it, he found himself in a cage with a familiar Spix macaw chick.

"Venus?" he gasped in shock. Venus just looked at him with a frightened look on her face. Around the two baby birds, other birds were being tossed into cages too, by more four-legged creatures. Then after a few more moments of this, Mercury and Venus heard a voice say, "Right, that's it, folks. We've got enough birds. Call Nigel and the cats back and cage the last of the caught birds. We're going to the airport to load this lot onto the plane."

Then within moments, four-legged creatures began to gather around and finish caging the final birds while a white bird with a yellow crest flew down. Mercury and Venus looked up at the white bird, the four-legged creatures and then at the other terrified birds with frightened eyes. Then the two macaws stumbled as their cage was picked up by a hand with five fingers. Mercury and Venus both got up and looked through the bars to see that they were being carried by a creature that walked on two legs and had arms. There were other creatures like the one carrying them as well and they were either petting the 'cats', the white bird or preparing to carry the caged birds. Mercury and Venus shivered as they then prepared to face being ripped from their home to an unknown demise.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- whisked out of Brazil and taken to a pet store**

A while after they had been caught the birds found themselves being stacked in their cages onto a large machine that had wings and spinning things. In the middle of the wings was a large box, which was referred to as a cargo bay. Among the stacked birds were Mercury and Venus. They looked around with eyes filled with intense fear at the other caged birds who also wore the same looks of fear, and then at the four-legged animals as they helped their owners pack more caged birds onto the plane. Mercury then began to look for his brother Jackie who had also been caged but to his utter dismay, he could not find the dark navy blue and teal form of his brother amongst the crowd of colourful feathers in cages. Then after the group of two legged creatures (called humans), and their four-legged pets and the white bird had finished loading the last of the birds onto the plane, some were paid while the flap on the open end of the cargo bay was slammed shut but not before the four-legged creatures and the white bird boarded the cargo bay to keep an eye on the birds. Next, some of the humans boarded the driving section and started up the plane and within moments, the plane moved.

In the cargo bay, the birds, who were seriously traumatised from being taken by surprise and then captured and caged, looked fearfully around with fear filled eyes. They were not only scared of these new but highly unfamiliar and frightening surroundings, but also of their uncertain fate. Adding to the birds' utter fear was the watchful eyes of the four-legged mammals and the white bird, whose eyes were filled with utter scorn and mockery. Mercury and Venus then began to timidly whimper and weep.

"I wish Mom and Dad were here," murmured Venus as tears spilled down her cheeks. However, she was unaware that her father Erico had been killed and Clarinda had probably fled or also been killed as well. As for Mercury's parents Thomas and Lola, they were likely killed as well. Mercury continued looking through the cage bars for his brother Jackie who was somewhere amongst the sea of colourful feathers in cages adorned with fear-filled eyes but still could not find him. Tears then welled in his eyes as Mercury dropped back onto the floor of his and Venus's cage. He saw next to Venus who was still looking around at the other caught birds and the four-legged mammals keeping a close eye on them, and began to sniffle.

"I know how you feel, Venus," said Mercury in a strangled voice. Venus then closed her eyes to allow tears to seep through her eyelids. She then bobbed her head slightly as sobs began to escape her throat. The shock of being ripped from her family and her home and then being caged was beginning to overwhelm her, and Mercury was equally traumatised. With tears falling from his eyes, Mercury wrapped his wings around the frightened Venus as she continued sobbing. However, their sobs did not move the unsympathetic four-legged creatures. Some of the other birds also began crying but the four-legged creatures that watched them bashed their paws on their cages and told them to shut up. One of them did the same to Mercury and Venus as they continued sobbing and crying.

"Shut up, you two," it snarled with a slap of a paw on the cage they were in. Mercury and Venus looked up at it with tear-filled eyes. Sobs continued escaping from their throats and tears continued falling from their eyes. However, any sympathy the two chicks wanted from the creature was met with utter disappointment for the creature did not have even a sliver of sympathy whatsoever. The creature then lost patience.

"I said stop crying and shut up, you two little brats," it said angrily, making its impatience clear, but Mercury and Venus continued sobbing and crying and hugging each other. The creature then let loose a snarl of frustration and turned to the white bird.

"Nigel, can you deal with these two little brats please?" it said, "They're not obeying a word I'm saying."

The burly white bird with a yellow crest and brown eyes filled with scorn and mockery, obliged and fluttered down from on top of another, taller cage holding a rosette spoonbill. The bird then plopped onto the floor and sauntered towards the sobbing Mercury and Venus. When the two chicks saw the burly bird walk towards them, they were filled with fear and backed away to the other side of the cage furthest from them. The white bird then moved its beak up to the bars of the cage and glared at the baby Spix and Lear's macaws with brown eyes filled with mocking.

"What's the matter, little pretty birds?" it asked in a dreary voice mockingly, "Miss your lovely home?"

Mercury and Venus did not say a word and continued crying. Finally, Venus spoke.

"We just wanna be released," she wailed, tears spewing from her eyes. Mercury, who also had tear-filled eyes, nodded in agreement but said nothing for he was too frightened to speak.

"Please, let us go," begged Venus and with that she fell onto her front and began begging the white bird to set them free. However, her desperate cries and begging will go unanswered for the white bird was not one bit moved by her sobbing. There was no sliver of sympathy in the bird's eyes at all, just like there was no sliver of sympathy in the eyes of the four-legged mammals. Some of the mammals, in fact, found it hilarious and let loose titters from their throats. As Venus sobbed on the cage floor, the white bird's beak widened as an evil smile crept in as it also found the Spix macaw chick's distress funny.

"You know something, you little pretty bird?" the white bird tittered, "Seeing you pretty birds crying and wishing to be released sure is fun and entertaining."

Some of the four-legged creatures tittered again in agreement but some of the others were looking at the white bird impatiently. The creature that attempted to shut Mercury and Venus up earlier was especially losing patience.

"Just do something to shut those two whiners up, Nigel," it snarled, "Their whinging and sobbing is driving some of us cats NUTS!"

"With pleasure," crooned the white bird and with that, it advanced upon Mercury and Venus's cage and opened their cage door. Mercury and Venus backed away against the bars opposite the cage door and panicked...

Hours later, the plane had dropped off some of the captured birds in some of the countries in Europe, a continent due north east of South America (the continent in which Brazil resided) across the Atlantic Ocean. One of the countries the plane had landed in to drop off some of the birds was the UK and among the caged birds that were dropped off in this country were Mercury and Venus. Then later, a lorry was driving down a very busy road in a city called London, the capital city of the UK. It was heading for a pet store and in its cargo trailer were some of the caged birds taken out of Brazil. The city of London was especially busy and the roads were jam packed with cars and other vehicles. On either side of the roads on the footpaths, people were walking back and forth to various destinations, and the weather over London was not at all very bright and sunny. The skies were grey and it was raining heavily. As the cars and other vehicles drove on the roads, water splashed onto the pavements as they drove over puddles, while the people were dressed in coats. Some had umbrellas opened over them to keep themselves dry from the falling rain. However, the lorry driver was unfazed by the jammed and busy roads and appalling weather. He had a job to do but he was unaware that a number of the birds he had in his lorry's cargo bay were smuggled out of Brazil. Then after a while of driving and getting stuck behind two or three sets of traffic lights, the lorry pulled up in front of a shop. As soon as the driver had done that, he was met by a man who had run out of the shop in a coat. It was the shopkeeper and he was the owner of the pet store.

As the lorry driver climbed out of his lorry, he greeted the shopkeeper.

"Hi, not a very nice day is it?" he asked. The shopkeeper shook his head in agreement.

"Let's just quickly get those birds out of your lorry and into the shop, mate," he said, "We don't want any of them getting soaked."

The lorry driver nodded and went over to the back of the trailer cargo. He then opened up a flap that closed the back of the trailer to prevent any goods from falling out while the lorry was on the move and climbed into the trailer. The shopkeeper followed. Outside, some of the shopkeeper's assistants had come out of the pet store to help. They were also dressed in coats like the shopkeeper and the lorry driver. As soon as the assistants had gathered outside the lorry, the shopkeeper and the lorry driver began to unload the caged birds the shopkeeper had ordered. The shopkeeper and the lorry driver picked up the first cages and handed them to the assistants who took them and quickly rushed back inside the pet store to keep the birds dry. Before they ran for the pet store's door, the shopkeeper instructed them to take the cages to the 'aviary' and leave the cages on the floor with the doors open, which the assistants nodded in obedience as they took the cages. Amongst the cages unloaded first was the one containing Mercury and Venus. They were dazed and confused and did not know where they were. Furthermore, they seemed to have lost much of their memory about where they came from, what species of macaws they were and mostly who they were. However, they still remembered their names. During their journey to Europe with many of the other captured birds, the white bird had knocked them out by throwing them hard against the cage bars to stop them from whining. That attack had resulted in a bump on Mercury and Venus's heads but those bumps were receding, but the impact had affected their memories. However, based on the vastly different conditions of London from Brazil including the cold and wet weather, something told the Spix and Lear's macaw chicks that they didn't belong here. As the assistant carried their cage through the door and into the shop, the amnesiac Mercury and Venus looked around. The pet store had a variety of animals, many of them from exotic places, on offer. There were a few species of reptiles such as lizards and snakes, tropical fish, and a vast selection of birds of various species dotting the room. These animals appeared to be from tropical places such as Australia, Africa and South America such as Brazil and many of them looked like they had no idea of where they were.

The assistant then carried Mercury and Venus through the main room of the pet store toward a rectangular hole in the wall blocked off by a slab with a metallic 'handle' called a 'door'. Mercury and Venus looked up with confused eyes as the assistant then opened the door and then went through the hole. As the assistant walked through the hole, sounds of more bird calls filled the ears of Mercury and Venus, many of which were parrots and conures. For some reason, Mercury and Venus felt that these sounds were familiar but they could not remember where. This room had a large cage filled with a variety of birds. There were plants and various toys scattered around the massive room, as well as a sandy bottom dotted with more plants, rocks and toys. A hole filled with a transparent material was in the far wall of the room, providing visibility to the outside world. The light from the miserably grey skies shone through the transparent material and there were hundreds of flecks of rainwater covering its outside surface. Around the room besides the smaller plants were three or four trees. However, these trees appeared artificial for they appeared to be made out of some sort of manmade material. The branches of the trees were decorated with more toys and also the colourful forms of some of the parrots, and there were more flying about in the room. The assistant then went through another door which had wiring in its top section, entered the large room and then lowered the cage containing Mercury and Venus onto the sandy floor and left to fetch another cage, but not before she opened the cage door to allow Mercury and Venus to fly out into the large room by themselves. Her action startled the two chicks slightly and they backed away but the assistant appeared gentle as she did it. Thus, Mercury and Venus were left with an open cage door. A few seconds later, another assistant appeared with a caged parakeet. He also placed that cage onto the floor, opened the cage door and left. Over the next few minutes, the number of placed cages grew until finally, the increase stopped. The shopkeeper had finished receiving his order from the lorry driver who had returned to his driving seat and left to the next pet store. The group of assistants then smiled as they observed their new additions to the room they called an aviary.

"Well, folks, looks like we've got enough birds in here for a while," said the shopkeeper to his assistants.

"Yep," said one.

"Right, let's leave the birds to exit the cages themselves," said the shopkeeper, "And as soon as they are all out of their cages, we'll put these cages into storage."

"Hey, do you have any idea what species these two birds are?" asked another assistant, a male as he looked closely at Mercury and Venus. The two chicks shrunk against the corner furthest from his face as he peered at them. The shopkeeper came and knelt down to look at the two chicks as well.

"I don't know," he said, "The lorry driver told me that they are two hyacinth macaw chicks. They look like it, anyway. They have blue feathers and one of them has the characteristic eye rings and beak lappet. Anyway, let's leave these birds to leave their cages and come back later."

He then stood up and left, followed by his assistants. The birds were left in their opened cages. It was clear that the shopkeeper did not want to cause the birds too much stress by forcing them to leave their cages and into the aviary. A few seconds after the shopkeeper and the assistants left, some of the birds began to make their first cautious steps towards the opened cage doors. Their eyes were filled with awareness of this strange and unfamiliar place. Mercury and Venus watched as these birds hesitate for a while and then pluck up the courage to leave their cages and fly out into the spacious aviary. This compelled them to leave their cage as well, for they were desperate to be out of the cage. After looking at each other, Mercury sauntered towards the open cage door, and then poked his head out of the cage. Cautiously, he took one step out of the cage and placed a talon on the soft sandy floor. Mercury then moved the rest of his body out of the cage and took his next step, cautiously, away from the cage. He was very nervous, and his eyes were darting here and there about the aviary at the birds that flew around the place as well as chatting on the floor or playing with the toys. As Mercury continued cautiously stepping away from the cage, Venus followed and took her first step onto the sandy floor. The two macaw chicks continued looking around warily at their new surroundings for a while until they finally felt that it was relatively safe to fly from their cages.

Mercury took off from the floor and flew across the room towards the hole with the transparent material to get his first glimpse of the unfamiliar outside world while Venus continued trudging toward one of the small plants on the floor of the aviary. Behind her, more birds were cautiously leaving their cages and flying off into their new but temporary home. This was a pet store where humans kept and raised animals ready to be sold to customers who will raise them as pets, and Mercury and Venus were soon to find that out. Mercury continued gazing out of the transparent slab of clear material filling the hole into the outside world. It was dismal out there. The skies were grey and it was still pouring with rain. Furthermore, Mercury saw constructions called buildings. These buildings were dull and were made out of a variety of manmade materials. Some of the materials were reddish brown in colour and Mercury could see that on the skin of the buildings were rectangular blocks separated from each other by lines of sandy brown. These sandy brown lines were made of another material that seemed to hold the whole thing together. On the top of the majority of the buildings were dark brown sloping surfaces made out of individual scales and the buildings' sides had several holes filled with the same transparent material as the one Mercury was looking out now. This landscape was not like anything Mercury had seen before at all but it was not at all exotic and colourful like in the rainforest of Brazil, but Mercury could not even remember that he had come from over there at all. Not wanting to look at this dreary landscape a second longer, Mercury left the transparent hole (called a 'window') and fluttered off to find Venus, who had sat down among a patch of tall grass. Mercury and Venus then sat together in the patch of grass and began to weep once again. Around them, the other birds continued flying and chatting in the aviary. Some were preening, some were playing with the toys and some were napping. However, none of them noticed the two little chicks as they continued weeping and sobbing until around an hour later.

An hour or so later, two or three of the shopkeeper's assistants, seeing that all the new birds had left their cages, had come to take away the cages to put into storage for later use. Mercury and Venus continued weeping in the patch of grass and it was soon that they were noticed by one of the birds nearby. A medium sized bird with grey feathers, a white patch around its eyes and a rich pink-red tail just happened to come by and notice the two little macaws weeping. At this, it turned and looked at the two little macaws and walked over to them. Mercury and Venus were slightly startled by the parrot's unexpected appearance as the parrot then began to speak to them.

"I've never seen parrots like you before," it said. Mercury and Venus, with tear-filled eyes, said nothing for a few more minutes until finally, Venus replied.

"What sort of birds are you?" she timidly asked. The grey parrot tittered slightly and smiled.

"I'm an... African grey parrot," it replied, "My species comes from central Africa, hence my species name. However, I've been given to this pet store after my owner decided to re-home me."

The African grey parrot then looked at Mercury and Venus up and down.

"And what species of birds are you two?" it asked, "Based on your appearances, you appear to be both macaw chicks, but I can't tell what sort of macaw species you two are."

Mercury and Venus said nothing to this question. They couldn't even remember what sort of macaw they were; neither could they remember that they were in fact members of two incredibly rare and critically endangered species. The African grey parrot then decided to guess.

"Unless you both could be hyacinth macaw chicks," it said. It then eyed Mercury and said, "Especially you, little dark blue one. I've seen a hyacinth macaw before. Massive birds with yellow eye rings and skin by their lower mandibles and very dark navy blue feathers, they are. And based on the fact that you also have yellow eye rings and beak skin, you could well be one of them."

Mercury raised an eyebrow slightly confused. He had never seen a hyacinth macaw before and so he wasn't sure that he was one. The African grey parrot then looked at Venus and said, "And as for you, light blue one, I'm not sure if you're a type of hyacinth macaw or not since you don't have yellow eye rings and the beak skin. Unless, I suppose, you're a variety of hyacinth macaw that lacks those features?"

Venus did not reply either. Like Mercury, she couldn't remember what sort of macaw she was at all. When the two baby macaws didn't reply, the African grey parrot decided to introduce itself.

"Well, if you two don't know what sort of macaws you are, I don't blame you," it said, "After all; I have never seen your varieties before. Anyway, my name's Sammy. I'm a male African grey parrot. What are your names, if you both have any?"

Mercury and Venus did not reply to this question either. They were too upset to even answer the African grey parrot's questions. Sammy then tipped his head to one side.

"Well, if you don't tell me your names, how am I going to identify you?" he asked. Still the two little macaw chicks didn't reply and continued weeping. While Sammy began to wonder why the two macaws were crying, a multicoloured parrot walked in.

"I hope you're not bothering the newcomers, Sammy," it said in a firm feminine voice, "You know what newcomers are like and how shy and timid they can be when they've just been imported into here."

"Look, Sadie," said Sammy in reply, "I wasn't frightening these two macaw chicks. I was only introducing myself to them."

The colourful parrot, which was a female rainbow lorikeet named Sadie, then turned and looked at the two little macaws as they wept. At this, she was filled with sympathy.

"Oh, dear," she said, "You both look much traumatised."

Mercury and Venus then looked up at the rainbow lorikeet with tear-filled eyes. Sammy then began to wonder.

"Could they have been abused or something?" he asked. Sadie shot him a glare.

"Will you not say things like that, Sammy," she snapped, "You'll upset these two even more."

Turning back to Mercury and Venus, Sadie remembered something and then an idea entered her head.

"It's nearly feeding time," she said, "The shopkeeper will be filling our feeding troughs any moment now. Maybe some fruit will cheer these two despondent macaws up."

"Oh, yeah, I'd better get prepared for that," said Sammy, "Thanks for reminding me."

And with that, he flew off to keep an eye out for the shopkeeper or his assistants who will be turning up with the food any moment. This did not lift Mercury and Venus's mood, however for they were both too upset to even think about eating. Sadie, however, was firm.

"You both need something inside you, you two," she said, "I'm not going to have two chicks walking around very hungry. Come on; let's get prepared for feeding time."

Mercury and Venus, at first, looked up at her with sad eyes before finally going along with what Sadie said. Sadie smiled and then led the two little macaw chicks to a group of birds that had gathered in preparation for receiving their meal from the shopkeeper's assistants.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- purchased and on to be owned**

Mercury and Venus stood with Sadie and Sammy with many of the other birds by the feeding troughs as they waited for the shopkeeper's assistants to come and deliver their food. Mercury and Venus were still down while the other birds were excited. Then moments later, three of the shopkeeper's assistants came through the door carrying bags of seed and fruit. They greeted the excited birds as they walked into the aviary before finally setting to the task of filling the feeding troughs. The moment the seed and fruit landed in the first trough from the assistants' bags, the trough was swallowed up in a sea of colourful feathers as birds began eating the food from it. The assistants then filled the other feeding troughs and then checked the water in the drinking bowls and tubes to see if they wanted changing. While they did that, the birds all around the aviary flocked to the other feeding troughs and began to eat the fruit and seed. Mercury and Venus then tried to get past the sea of feathers or look for a space but could not find any gaps. Mercury then tried jumping into the feeding trough from above but was knocked away by a flapping wing from a large, excited parakeet. Mercury cried in shock and crashed in to the sand. Venus then saw a gap between two large scarlet macaws and made a beeline for it. However, before she could fill in the space, a green parakeet flew in and landed between the two scarlet macaws and began eating some of the fruit much to Venus's frustration. Venus then began to fly around over the sea of birds but to her disappointment, the feeding troughs were completely full of birds eating the food. The assistants, their job done and satisfied that the water in the drinking bowls and tubes was fine, left the room with their empty sacks that once had the food.

Mercury and Venus continued struggling to find a space amongst the sea of colourful feathers but still could not find any. Then after a few more minutes, the sea began to disperse as birds, having finished their fill of the food, flew back into the space of the aviary. Mercury and Venus began to look into one of the feeding troughs but only found fruit pieces and empty seed shells. The other fruit and seed in the feeding trough was being devoured by the other birds still eating. Mercury then attempted to reach for a piece of mango but a parrot hissed at him to back off and picked up the mango before greedily swallowing it down. Mercury then sat down disappointed. Venus did the same. It was then that Sadie and Sammy returned with some pineapple and mango slices in their beaks.

"Here, we've saved these last pieces of fruit for you two," said Sadie. Mercury then took the mango piece and began to eat it while Venus took the pineapple slices from Sammy's beak and ate that too.

"We're really sorry," said Sammy upon seeing the disappointed looks on Mercury and Venus's faces, "We didn't tell you that sometimes feeding time can be quite hectic."

"It's okay," groaned Venus as she continued eating the pineapple pieces. Sadie then sat down beside the two little macaw chicks.

"By the way, you haven't even told us your names yet," she said, "I think you'll have already heard that I'm called Sadie and that I'm a rainbow lorikeet."

"And I've already told you that my name is Sammy and I'm an African grey parrot," said Sammy. Mercury then looked up at the two birds.

"My name's Mercury," he murmured.

"And mine's Venus," said Venus, "But we don't know what species of macaws we are."

"Mercury and Venus?" asked Sammy intrigued, "Aren't they two of the planets in the Solar System?"

Mercury and Venus looked up at the grey parrot with the rose pink-red tail in wonder.

"Planets?" repeated Mercury.

"They're space objects that orbit the sun," replied Sadie, "The Earth is one of them but there are two called Mercury and Venus."

"Interesting," murmured Venus moodily as she ate another piece of pineapple. Then Sadie examined the features of the two macaw chicks.

"And I'm not sure what species of macaw you two are," she said, "Could you be hyacinth macaw chicks?"

"I've reached that same assumption," said Sammy, "Especially since the navy blue one (referring to Mercury), has very dark navy blue feathers, black beak and the yellow beak lappet and eye rings, all of which are features of a hyacinth macaw."

Sadie then looked at Mercury's head and neck closely and realised that they were tinted a dark teal. She then looked at Venus's feathers and saw that Venus did not have yellow eye rings and a beak lappet unlike Mercury.

"Hmm, they might not be hyacinth macaws actually," she said with uncertainty, "Hyacinth macaws do not have teal tinted feathers on the face and neck as this little chick does here, and the light blue chick (referring to Venus) does not have yellow eye rings or a beak lappet and her feathers are too bright a blue to be hyacinth as hyacinth macaws often have very dark navy blue feathers."

"Maybe they could be two varieties of hyacinth macaws?" asked Sammy. Sadie shrugged her shoulders in an 'I don't know' gesture. Just then there was the sound of a door opening and closing, followed by some human voices which roused the four birds' attention. Mercury and Venus had just finished their fruit when they saw Sammy and Sadie look in the direction of the doors leading to the aviary.

"Looks like we've got some potential customers," said Sadie. Sammy nodded in agreement.

"What's a customer?" asked Mercury. Sammy turned and looked at him.

"They're humans who buy things from other humans," he replied, "In this case, us birds to be taken away and owned as pets."

This filled Mercury with curiously and he followed Sadie and Sammy's gaze. Venus did the same. What they saw was a family of three people as they stood behind the second door leading to the aviary with the shopkeeper and one of his assistants. The family of three were a man, a woman and a male child, a son, and the shopkeeper was explaining to them what sort of birds they had with gestures to the birds as they flew around the aviary. It was clear that this family of three wanted a pet bird or two. Venus then began to ask the next question.

"Us birds to be taken away and owned as pets?" she asked, repeating the last fragment of Sammy's previous sentence.

"This pet store is not meant to be the permanent home of most of the animals here," explained Sadie, "That shopkeeper over there is intending to sell some of us to other humans as pets."

"And that is where the most nerve-wracking and uncertain part comes in," said Sammy nervously. Mercury and Venus looked at him with tensed eyes.

"Nerve-wracking and uncertain?" asked Mercury. Sadie then walked towards him and sat down beside him.

"When an animal is chosen by a customer to be the latter's pet," she explained, "That animal is taken out into the unknown. We never know whether that human or those humans are going to be kind and loving owners... or cruel and abusive ones."

Mercury and Venus gasped when Sadie mentioned the words cruel and abusive.

"Some humans are good with us animals," said Sammy but then his tone turned serious and dark. "But there are some that are not."

"A few of the birds that currently reside in here had been rescued from abusive owners," said Sadie, "I remember a red-tailed black cockatoo being brought into here that had to be nursed back to health by one of the assistants. That poor, unfortunate cockatoo had been starved, abused and neglected."

This made Mercury and Venus's nerves wince inside of them. They could not imagine being owned by a cruel and abusive owner. Then Sadie turned and looked back at the family of three as the shopkeeper entered the aviary through the second door with the assistant.

"Well, I hope whichever bird or birds those three humans have chosen to own as pets will be kind and loving to them," she said. Sammy, Mercury and Venus stood there and watched as the shopkeeper and assistant, who had a cardboard box with holes in it on hand, gently corner a parakeet. The shopkeeper tried to calm the parakeet, which was a bit frightened, with soothing words while the assistant prepared the box. Sammy, Sadie, Mercury and Venus continued watching as the shopkeeper continued carefully closing in on the parakeet for a few more minutes until he finally caught it with a quick but gentle grab. The parakeet disappeared into the assistant's box in a blink of an eye and the box was closed. As soon as the two people had caught the parakeet, they left for the exit where the family of three stood. Then within the next few minutes, the five humans were gone.

"That boy certainly did look excited," said Venus.

"It's often the case when a young human gets a new pet," said Sadie, "But then comes the serious business of looking after it and caring it."

Sammy then turned and walked away as he heard one of his friends call his name.

"Sorry to leave you three but my conure friends over there want to talk to me about something," said Sammy, "I'll speak to you three later."

And with that, he left to a group of conures. Sadie then got up.

"And I think I'm going to play with a toy," she said, her eyes laid on a bell with a mirror hung up in one of the artificial trees. Turning back to Mercury and Venus, she said, "If you both need me, I'm up there, okay?"

And with that, the rainbow lorikeet took off and flew into the tree's branches to play with the toy. Mercury and Venus looked on. They knew that their days here were numbered as it was possible that a human or a group of them might select one or both of them to take away and keep as their pets. Brushing off that thought, Mercury and Venus left to find something to do.

Three days later, Mercury and Venus and the other birds in the aviary were up and about up to their usual business. They had just had their morning feed, or breakfast and were ready for the day ahead. Outside through the window, the weather seemed to have improved but the sky was partially cloudy. A few streaks of sunlight sliced through the air and shone through the transparent material making up the window and into the aviary. Over the three day period, Mercury and Venus had managed to get over some of the trauma but they were still shaken from being imported into this unfamiliar place. Furthermore, their loss of memories still plagued them. Mercury and Venus still could not remember that they had been born in Brazil, or if they had any parents or siblings, as well as what species of macaws they were. However, they had come to believe that they were some type of hyacinth macaws as the majority of the other birds in the aviary had reached the same assumption as Sammy and Sadie. While it was true that their species were both types of blue macaw, Mercury and Venus were not aware that their species were ultra rare. In fact, they could not even remember being told that their species were rare at all. Not even the shopkeeper and his assistants were aware that the two little chicks were of two extremely rare species. However, Mercury and Venus had soon given up trying to guess what their species were and had come to the conclusion that they were simply types of hyacinth macaws despite their different or lack of features of them and continued playing with either the other birds or the toys. However, today might be their last day in the pet store.

Mercury and Venus sat in a branch of one of the artificial trees playing with a mirror with a bell when the sound of the first door to the aviary opened, followed by talking between a group of humans. At this, Mercury and Venus's heads rose in curiosity and they left the branch to investigate. Some of the other birds also turned their heads towards the door when they heard the sounds. Mercury and Venus then landed on a rock on the floor and watched the group of humans as they talked. It was the shopkeeper and one of his assistants and they were accompanied by a woman.

"I would like to purchase two parrots from here, please," the woman said to the shopkeeper and his assistant, "It's for a birthday present for my daughters Susan and Lucy."

As the woman said this, Sadie and Sammy joined Mercury and Venus to watch which birds the woman would choose.

"Looks like two more birds are going to be purchased to be kept as pets," said Sammy.

"We have a variety of birds in this aviary, Ma'am," said the shopkeeper, "Do you have any idea of what sort of birds you would like for your daughters?"

And with that he gestured into the aviary through the hole in the door blocked off with silvery wires forming a grid. The woman replied with silence at first. Then she looked through the barred window at the birds.

"I don't know to be honest with you," she finally said, "Susan and Lucy didn't say what sort of parrots they would like so I can't say."

"Well, we have a variety of parakeets, two or three African grey parrots, a few macaw species..." said the assistant.

"I would prefer it if the parrots are young, better if they are chicks that had just learned to fly," said the woman, "Therefore they'll be easier to train. My triplet nephews Blake, Drake and Jake already have seven macaws as chicks which my brother purchased for their birthday last week..."

"That's a lot of birds," whispered Sadie. Then the shopkeeper looked through the barred window of the second door and said, "Well, not many of our birds in there are young chicks, I'm afraid but..."

"Wait, I think we may have a couple," said his assistant, "But they're the only two youngest birds we have in the entire aviary. Do you want us to go in there and catch them?"

When Mercury and Venus heard this, they felt their nerves tingle. It was no doubt that out of all the birds living in this aviary, they were the youngest birds and apparently the only fledged chicks.

"We'll see what we can find," said the shopkeeper, "It's a tough request to grant actually, ma'am. We rarely sell very young birds to customers."

"It's okay, just let's see what you have," said the woman. And with that the shopkeeper opened the second door and entered the aviary with his assistant. The shopkeeper then closed the door and locked it before wailing into the Aviary with his assistant. The assistant carried a cardboard box with some holes in her arms ready to catch the two birds of the woman's choice. When some of the birds saw the two humans walk in, they flew away. Sadie, Sammy, Mercury and Venus, however, stood on the rock watching the two as they began to look around for any young parrots while the woman remained standing behind the closed second door waiting for the shopkeeper and his assistant to find any young parrots, if they had any. Then after a while of searching the aviary, the shopkeeper's eyes landed on Mercury and Venus who flinched slightly.

"There are these two hyacinth macaws," he said the woman, "They're chicks that have just fledged."

"Hyacinth macaw chicks?" replied the woman, "Blake, Drake and Jake already have two of those. Don't you have any other parrot chicks?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," said the assistant, "But these two are the only chicks we have in the whole aviary. We can't find any other bird their age."

The woman hesitated for a while, while Mercury and Venus looked at Sadie and Sammy with slightly dreaded eyes.

"Looks like you both are selected I'm afraid, you two," whispered Sadie sadly. And she was proven right when the woman said, "Then I'll take those two blue chicks if you don't have any other parrots that are very young."

"Okay," said the shopkeeper and with that, he nodded to his assistant who got prepared with the box while the shopkeeper began to carefully and cautiously advance upon Mercury and Venus. Mercury and Venus, filled with fear, took off from the rock and flew around the aviary. The shopkeeper began chasing them.

"It's okay, you two," said the shopkeeper as he chased them, "I'm only going to catch you to be given to your new owner. I won't hurt you."

Mercury and Venus were not soothed by these words and continued flying around the aviary. Sadie and Sammy could only watch as the shopkeeper finally corned the two little chicks after a while of chasing them. The shopkeeper then carefully and slowly advanced on the two chicks with his hands ready for a quick grab. His assistant had joined his side with the box open and ready. Then after a few more tense moments, the shopkeeper quickly but carefully lunged at Mercury and Venus and grabbed Venus. Venus squeaked and chirped in surprise but before she knew it, she was placed into something pale brown filled with white soft stuff. Then a few seconds later, she was joined by Mercury. The moment Mercury was in the box, they were enveloped in darkness with only the light shining through the holes in the cardboard box. The assistant had closed the box to prevent them from escaping. Mercury and Venus then quivered as they felt the assistant carry them out of the aviary. Mercury then looked through one of the holes and saw that he and Venus were being carried through the two doors and out into the main compartment of the shop visible to anyone that entered it.

"Okay," they heard the shopkeeper speak. Then he told the woman the price of the two macaws, which the woman paid. Next, the two macaw chicks felt the box get passed to another person as the assistant gave the box containing them to the woman. Then after the woman said thanks and goodbye to the shopkeeper and his assistant, she left for the door, opened it and left, taking Mercury and Venus with them.

A while later, Mercury and Venus heard the sound of another door opening and closing. The woman had arrived back at her house, which was busy and filled with the noises of other humans.

"I'm home," she called as she put the box down, took off her coat and hung it up on a hook. As soon as she had done this and picked up the box, two girls excitedly ran in and cried, "Mother!"

Both girls had brown hair but the taller one had green eyes while the shorter one had blue. The green-eyed girl was the oldest while the blue-eyed girl was the youngest and they were both sisters. The three humans were then joined by a male who came and kissed the woman on her cheek and greeted her. The woman greeted the man, who was her husband and then smiled at her two excited daughters

"Alright, Susan and Lucy, let's reveal your surprises in the living room," she said. The daughters, named Susan and Lucy, cheered and then left for the living room, followed by their mother and father. In the living room, several more humans were sitting and having fun. All wore brightly coloured cone-shaped things on their heads held in place by a piece of stretchy string while some blew brightly coloured kazoo-sounding things. In one corner, three boys roughly the age of the younger blue-eyed girl played with some brightly coloured chicks: seven of them. All three boys had brown hair like the two girls but they all looked alike, differing from each other in the colour of their clothing. All their eyes were brown and they appeared to be identical triplets based on their matching features. The seven chicks with them were all macaws. Two were red with blue wing flight feathers but one had a yellow streak dividing the red wing contour feathers from the blue flight feathers while the other had green in the same spots. Another chick had a dark aqua blue back, a yellow front and a green forehead while a fourth was green with cerulean flight feathers, a red forehead, a blue and cerulean tail and yellow feathers on the undersides of its wings and tail. The fifth and sixth were blue like Mercury and Venus but the fifth was a very dark navy blue with yellow eye rings and beak lappet while the sixth appeared to have turquoise feathers and a grey head and neck. It too had a yellow beak lappet and eye rings. The seventh and last chick was blue and yellow like the third chick but its blue back was darker and it had a blue patch below its beak. Its forehead was also blue like the rest of the body unlike the third chick whose forehead was green.

The three boys as they played with the seven chicks, smiled at the two girls as they sat down on either side of their mother. The mother had the box placed on her lap.

"Right, Susan and Lucy," she said firmly, "I have managed to find you both a couple of young macaw chicks from the local pet store. Unfortunately, they were all he had. Now before I open this box, I want you both to promise me that you'll take good care of these two macaws like Blake, Drake and Jake are taking care of their seven macaws, okay?"

"We promise, Mother," said the two girls together. The mother smiled, satisfied that her girls had promised that they would take care of their new pets and opened the lids of the box, revealing Mercury and Venus. As soon as the girls' eyes landed on the two chicks, they were filled with awe, affection and delight. Mercury and Venus, however, were slightly frightened by the two girls and cowered against the white soft stuff in the box. The girls were filled with sympathy and looked at each other.

"You choose one first, Lucy," said the oldest girl. The younger girl, named Lucy looked up at her older sister and then obliged. She then laid her eyes on Venus who was frightened. Filled with sympathy, she gently and cautiously reached her hands into the box. Venus saw the hands coming and backed away timidly.

"Oh, it's okay, little bird," said Lucy in a soothing voice, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Venus continued backing away until finally, Lucy managed to scoop up Venus in her hands. Venus whimpered slightly as she was lifted out of the box. But as she looked at the girl's green eyes as they were filled with sympathy, her fear slowly melted away and she felt a little relaxed. Lucy then smiled and crooned lovingly at Venus as the little chick looked up at her with her amber eyes. In the corner, the triplet boys and the seven chicks all smiled as Lucy accepted her new pet. Then Susan, the older girl and sister of Lucy, cautiously reached into the box to scoop up Mercury. At first, Mercury was timid but as Susan cautiously lifted Mercury out of the box and crooned lovingly at him, he also felt a bit relaxed.

"He's so cute," crooned Susan with as smile. Mercury looked up at her. It was then that one of the boys spoke.

"What are you going to call them, cousins?" he asked.

"How about naming them after planets just like we have named ours?" asked the other boy. At this, Susan and Lucy smiled at the suggestion while Mercury and Venus's eyes widened in shock.

'Planet names?' thought Mercury in her head.

"Of course, but which of the planet names are yet to be used though?" asked Lucy. The third boy smiled.

"Well, we've already used Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Ceres, Lucy," he said, "So that means only Mercury and Venus are left."

"Then I'll name this cute little macaw Mercury," said Susan much to Mercury's surprise. That was already his name and he was surprised by the utter coincidence.

"And I'll name this one Venus," said Lucy, "Because I can tell this one is a female."

Venus reacted in the same way as Mercury as it was also already her name. However, she and Mercury eventually overcame the shock and accepted them. Then Susan and Lucy lowered Mercury and Venus to the floor so that they could be introduced to the other seven chicks. The other seven chicks smiled at the two newcomers when the group heard someone call them that it was lunch time.

"Time to wash your hands and sit at the table, you lot," commanded Susan and Lucy's mother. At this, Susan, Lucy and the three boys looked up at her and obeyed. Soon, the whole family of humans were sat around the table while the nine chicks were placed on a smaller table with a feeding bowl filled with fruit and seed. As soon as the family had sat around the table, three more humans, an elderly man, an elderly woman and another younger woman, which Mercury and Venus deduced must be the grandparents of either the three boys or Susan and Lucy and another aunt, served the food and then sat themselves at the table. The family then gave thanks to God for the food for they were Christians and believed in the existence of God. While they did that, the nine macaw chicks began to eat their food. Mercury and Venus's fears had mostly melted away for they felt assured that Susan and Lucy would become their loving owners in the foreseeable future. As they introduced themselves to their seven new friends, the family and extended family of humans began eating.

However, though Mercury and Venus were now living under the belief that they are species of hyacinth macaws, they will eventually discover that they are in fact of two extremely rare species of macaws and that they may have to be given over to conservation eventually, and it was possible that one of Susan and Lucy's triplet cousins (named Blake, Drake and Jake)'s birds could be an extremely rare species of macaw too. The turquoise coloured chick with the grey head and neck and yellow eye rings and beak lappet could possibly be rare too but like Mercury and Venus, it believed that it was a species of hyacinth macaw as did its three owners. That revelation will be revealed later on.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- fifteen years later**

Around fifteen years had passed since Susan and Lucy had got Mercury and Venus, and a lot had happened over the time period. Susan and Lucy and their three cousins Blake, Drake and Jake had eventually moved out of their homes into independence. They had taken their nine macaws with them and had found a place to live. Furthermore, they had signed up to a degree in ecology at a university. Over the fifteen years, the nine macaws had grown up into beautiful and handsome adult birds. Mercury had grown into a handsome young adult macaw. He had very dark navy blue feathers on his body wings and tail but the feathers on his face and chest were tinted a dark teal which had become more prominent as he grew up. Mercury's eyes had also darkened in grey colour and he had developed a slender build. His crest had also developed more, becoming a three feathered tassel on the crown of his head that pointed backward. Though he still believed that he was a type of hyacinth macaw, the teal tinted feathers on his face and chest, as well as his size, made that assumption open to question.

While Mercury had grown into a handsome young adult male macaw, Venus had grown into a beautiful young adult female macaw. Her feathers had become more maya blue and she had also gained a slender build. Venus's eyes had remained the same shade of amber but her double crest had grown longer as she grew up. They were now long head feathers but Venus always kept then tied up with a bobble each which she had received from Lucy at some point as she grew up. Having her two sets of long head feathers tied up gave Venus the appearance of having pigtails and she was sometimes laughed at by other pet birds due to her unusual appearance. However, Venus didn't mind and felt quite proud to be unique. Like Mercury, her assumption that she was a type of hyacinth macaw was open to question based on her size, feather colour and her lack of yellow eye rings and a beak lappet for Venus had no such features.

Mercury and Venus's seven friends whom they met as chicks had also grown up into handsome and beautiful young adult macaws. One of the macaws was named Mars, and he was a male green-winged macaw. He had grown into a colourful young adult bird with red feathers on his body, parts of his wings and some of his tail. Like all green-winged macaws his face was surrounded by a patch of white skin and his beak and feet were black and white. Also like all green-winged macaws, Mars's wing flight feathers were a shade of blue, but his were azure blue as were parts of his tail feathers, and between the azure blue flight feathers and red contours on his wings were a large green band characteristic of his species. Mars had orange eyes, a stocky build and a simple feather ruffle at the base of his head.

The other red macaw was also a male and was named Jupiter. However, unlike Mars, he was a scarlet macaw. Scarlet macaws were similar to green-winged macaws but the main feature that distinguished scarlets from the green-winged was the band between the blue flight feathers and red contours on the wings which in scarlet macaws was yellow instead of green. Jupiter was a massive macaw and was taller than Mercury, Venus and Mars. His feathers had a rather unusual shade. While they were red, Jupiter appeared to have an orange tint to his red feathers, giving them a vermillion (red-orange) appearance. Jupiter's characteristic scarlet macaw wing bands were a brilliant sulfur yellow and his wing flight feathers were turquoise with a hint of teal in them. Jupiter's tail feathers were part vermillion and part teal-tinted turquoise. Jupiter's white face skin enclosed his eyes and beak in a heart shape and his beak and feet were black and white like Mars's. Jupiter was also muscular in build and had brown eyes and a flat sheet of feathers on the back of his head.

One of the blue and yellow chicks with the green forehead was a blue-and-gold macaw and it was a male named Saturn. Saturn had grown into a handsome male blue-and-gold macaw. Like all blue-and-golds, Saturn's back, wing and tail uppersides, and the back of his head and neck were blue while his frontal parts and wing and tail undersides were yellow. Saturn's forehead was also green. However, Saturn's blue parts appeared to be dark aqua blue while his yellow parts were yellow. Like most blue-and-gold macaws also, Saturn had some white skin around his face and beak and a black mark on his throat. His beak and feet were black and dark grey. Saturn had a tuft of feathers on his green forehead but no other crest, beige eyes and a stocky build. Like Jupiter, he was tall and muscular and was larger than Mercury, Venus and Mars but was not as tall and muscular as Jupiter.

The green macaw chick with the blue, yellow and red markings was a male great green macaw named Uranus. He had grown into a young adult great green macaw which was also called a Buffon's macaw. like all Buffon's macaws, Uranus had green feathers on his head, back and parts of his wings as well as blue wing flight feathers, a blue lower back, a red forehead, a blue and red tail and yellow wing and tail undersides. However, Uranus's blue parts were cerulean and he had a patch of white skin surrounding each of his eyes. His beak and feet were dark grey and Uranus had a stocky build. His eyes were a shade of green and his crest was a set of forward pointing feathers somewhat similar to tufts of a human boy's hair.

The dark blue chick, which was definitely a hyacinth macaw chick, was named Neptune. Neptune had grown into a young adult male hyacinth macaw with very dark navy blue feathers, though his face, chest and the upper parts of his wings appeared to be a lighter shade of navy blue when seen up close. Because of his species which was known to grow to very large proportions, Neptune was the largest macaw of the group, and was almost twice the size of Mercury, Venus and Mars. Like all hyacinth macaws, he had a black beak and talons and yellow eye rings and a beak lappet. Neptune had a forward pointing tassel of feathers and a feather ruffle on the back of his head. His eyes were a shade of blue and he had a slender build.

The turquoise coloured chick with the grey head and neck was named Pluto. Pluto had grown into a young adult male macaw. His feathers apart from those on his head and neck were turquoise with a light hint of teal, giving Pluto's plumage a slight sea green colour. His head and neck were grey coloured, as well as his tail underside, and he had yellow eye rings and a beak lappet as well as a black beak and feet. Pluto's build was slender and he had sandy brown eyes and a large cowlick crest on his head. Much like Mercury and Venus, Pluto (as well as his owners and the other macaws) believed that he was a type of hyacinth macaw but his plumage was too light a blue to be one. Furthermore, he was only the size of Mercury, Venus and Mars and had a grey head and neck which further questioned this assumption. However, apart from this, none of his owners or the other macaws (or even Pluto himself) knew what sort of species of macaw he was.

The last macaw of the seven Venus and Mercury met was the other blue and yellow bird, a female blue-throated macaw named Ceres. She had grown into a beautiful young adult blue-throated macaw. like all blue-throated macaws, Ceres's back parts (wing and tail uppersides, back and the back of her head and neck) were blue and her front parts (wing and tail undersides, face and torso) were yellow. She also had the characteristic feature of a blue-throat: a large blue bib-pike marking below her beak. Ceres's blue parts were a lush blue colour while her yellow parts were yellow ochre, or yellow with a slight orange tint. Ceres was slightly taller than Mercury, Venus, Mars and Pluto and had a stocky build. Her crest was tied back into a ponytail much like Venus's pigtails and she had light grey eyes. She also had thin strips of white skin surrounding her eyes and her beak and feet were greyish.

Several years after Susan and Lucy had received Mercury and Venus, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had purchased four more pets, also as babies: two cockatoos named Travis (a sulfur-crested) and Sunset (a Major Mitchell's), a cat named Veggie as a kitten and a greyhound named Dash as a puppy. Like the macaws, these four pets had grown into young adults. Travis had grown into a handsome sulfur-crested cockatoo with snow-white feathers and a black beak and greyish feet. Like all sulfur-crested cockatoos, Travis had a brilliantly yellow crest which was obvious when it was erected whenever Travis was startled, excited, angry or surprised. Travis also had fainter yellow markings on his wing and tail undersides. His eyes were baby blue and he had a stocky build.

Sunset the Major Mitchell's cockatoo had grown into a beautiful and colourful cockatoo. The majority of her plumage was off-white and tinted with salmon pink-orange but the uppersides of her wings and tail were nearly completely white. She had darker salmon-pink patches all along her wing and tail undersides and a light grey beak and feet. Her most stunning feature was her crest, which had striking red and yellow bands on the feathers closest to where they sprouted from her head, visible whenever Sunset's crest was raised when she was angry, startled or excited. The feathers were pinkish white at the tips. Sunset had pink eyes and a slender build, but she looked quite similar to Travis due to the similarity of their species' build.

Veggie had grown into a typical tabby cat with brown, orange and black striped fur. He had a slender build and brown eyes, and wore a red collar with a name tag around his neck. Veggie had some long hair on his head that flicked forward. He was quite an unusual cat who was completely vegetarian. He would absolutely not eat any bird, fish or mouse or any other form of meat whatsoever and never had done since he was a kitten, and he was bird-friendly unlike most cats. These traits made him suitable to keep along with the macaws and the cockatoos, with whom he was good friends. Dash the greyhound had grown into a tall greyhound. His fur was simply one colour: a light grey and he had no other markings. Like all greyhounds, Dash had a slender head, long legs and tail and a slender torso built for speed. The torso was wide at the chest but narrowed towards the waist, and he had high levels of stamina. These traits made Dash the fastest of Susan and company's pets. Dash had blue eyes and a collar with licence around his neck; much like Veggie's but his was a blue colour. All thirteen animals grew up together with their five owners and eventually moved into with them into another place as soon as Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had started university.

One morning, the sun rose into the sky over the urban landscape of London city. It was morning and along with the sun, rose the majority of the populace of London. In one house, the sun's rays beamed in through the window and shone onto a bed in which a young woman slept. Beside her bed was a large chest of drawers and on it were a series of photos taken of her, her younger sister Lucy and their triplet cousins Blake, Drake and Jake, as well and their thirteen pets. One picture had Lucy holding Veggie as a kitten while another had Susan holding Dash as a puppy. Another picture showed a young Veggie playing ball with three of the macaws Mercury, Mars and Uranus while still another showed Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake showing their graduation certificates from college. There were other photos taken over the past fifteen years including a picture of all nine macaws and the two cockatoos together perched in a tree, taken only recently. Beside the collection of photos, the woman, who was Susan, continued sleeping until suddenly, her digital alarm clock went off with a series of loud beeps. Groaning, Susan reached out a hand, felt for the clock and switched it off. However, she turned over in her bed. Outside Susan's room, Lucy was already up, as was Blake, one of the triplet cousins of Lucy. With them were some of their thirteen pets, including Venus, the light blue macaw with the double pigtail-like crest. They were perched on the banister above the stairs. Lucy had just had a shower and had just got dressed while Blake was prepared to enter into the shower.

"Hey, Lucy is Susan up yet?" he asked, "We have an early lecture today."

"She should be," said Lucy. She then turned to Venus and said, "Venus, could you fly into Susan's room and see if she's awake please?"

Venus nodded and took off from the banister and entered Susan's bedroom. Unlike Blu when he lived with Linda in Minnesota, the US, Venus was able to fly around the house with ease. The same was true for the other eight macaws and the two cockatoos, Travis and Sunset. As soon as Venus had entered Susan's room, she was a little disappointed to see Susan still in bed. She then flew over to try and get Susan out of bed but Susan just raised a hand and wafted her away. Venus let loose a sigh of slight frustration.

"Trying to sleep in, eh?" she muttered to herself. It was then that a scarlet macaw entered the room. He had a slightly mischievous grin on his face.

"Wouldn't Susan wake up, Venus?" he said. Venus looked at him with a frown.

"Apparently not, Jupiter," she muttered. The scarlet macaw named Jupiter then smiled mischievously.

"Then allow me," he said and with that, he began to mimic a very loud clock alarm, so loud that Venus had to cover her ears. This had a dramatic affect as it made Susan literally jump out of bed in shock. Jupiter stopped making the sound as soon as Susan had done this.

"What, what the-!?" gasped Susan in shock. Her eyes then landed on the giggling scarlet macaw standing on the floor. At this, Susan became slightly irritated but also at the same time amused.

"Oh, it was you, Jupiter," she said, "Still using that clock alarm sound you picked up to jolt me awake, hmm?"

Jupiter just replied with a slight squawk and fluttered out of the room, followed by Venus who also wore a smile of amusement on her face. Susan then rubbed her eyes groggily and got out of bed. As she stepped out of the door leading to her bedroom, Drake and Jake, Blake's identical triplet brothers, came by with Uranus the great green macaw and Neptune the hyacinth macaw on their shoulders.

"Morning, Susan," said Drake, "Tried to sleep in again, huh?"

"I did until Jupiter startled me with a loud alarm clock call," muttered Susan, "That scarlet macaw can be so mischievous sometimes."

"Well, I'm afraid we don't have time for a lay-in, cousin," said Jake with an amused smile on his face, "We have an early lecture today and we need to be at the lecture theatre in time for it. Anyway, let's go down and have some breakfast."

Susan nodded and with that, she, Drake and Jake left for downstairs. As soon as they were downstairs, Drake and Jake ordered Uranus and Neptune to help them get the pets' breakfast sorted. The great green and hyacinth macaws immediately obeyed and flew off to look for some bowls. Later, all five owners were downstairs and all thirteen pets were up. Susan had a bag of parrot food which consisted of natural fruit and nuts while Lucy scooped out some of the food and into the bowls held by the nine macaws and two cockatoos.

"Here you go, Mercury," said Lucy as she placed a handful of food into Mercury's bowl. Mercury flew off and Venus walked up to Lucy with her bowl. Lucy scooped out another handful of parrot food and filled her bowl too. Venus then flew away to allow Mars to receive his handful. While Susan and Lucy fed the eleven parrots, Blake, Drake and Jake filled Dash and Veggie's bowls with food as well. Veggie received some vegetarian cat food while Dash received regular dog food. As soon as the triplet brothers had filled their bowls, Veggie and Dash began eating while Blake, Drake and Jake left to put away the vegetarian cat and dog food. As the tabby cat and the greyhound ate, they were joined by Mercury, Venus, Mars and then Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres and then finally Travis and Sunset. As soon as they had finished feeding the parrots, Susan and Lucy left to put away the back of parrot food, get their own breakfast, and do Bible study with their three cousins, which they did every morning. While they did that, the pets began talking. Ceres looked up at Drake as he set up the laptop before joining his brothers Drake and Jake and two cousins Susan and Lucy as they ate their breakfast to begin Bible study. Blake, Drake and Jake indeed looked alike. They were known as monozygotic triplets, having come from the same fertilised egg. Because of this, the three brothers looked almost completely identical and could only be told apart based on the colours of their attire. Blake wore blue; Drake wore yellow while Jake wore red.

"You know something, it's fascinating how identical twins and triplets could arise from one fertilised egg," said Ceres, "When I read about that in a book on human reproduction, I was intrigued."

"It is interesting how monozygotic twins, triplets and even rarer, quads can arise," said Jupiter as he ate a mango, "I don't think it happens in birds."

"Your embryology's different to us mammals," said Dash, "You hatch from eggs, while we mammals apart from the platypus and the echidna are born live."

"Then I suppose the development of monozygotic siblings could only happen in live bearing mammals," said Ceres as she ate a piece of pineapple, "It certainly does happen in humans sometimes."

"Were Jacob and Esau identical twins?" asked Pluto.

"No, they weren't," said Jupiter, "If they were, they'd both have the same features and the Bible would say that but it doesn't. Jacob had smooth, hairless skin while Esau was red with hair."

"That would mean that they were dizygotic twins then," said Ceres, "Having come from two separate fertilised eggs."

"Yes," said Dash. While Dash and the macaws and cockatoos talked, Veggie was reading an Ipad when he said, "Oh, no."

"What is it?" asked Travis the sulfur-crested cockatoo. Then he frowned.

"You know you're not supposed to be reading that while we're eating, cat," he muttered.

"I was reading an article about Jesus's Resurrection," replied Veggie, "And the writers are stating that it should be confined to the realm of mythology as they believe that it is not possible for it to have happened."

"But it HAS happened, hasn't it?" said Ceres.

"If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, how can people be saved from their sins, and God's wrath that humans deserve because of their sinful nature, through believing in Him as their Saviour Who had died on that Cross to take their place!?" put in Travis.

"It is part of the heart of Christianity, Jesus' Resurrection," said Dash, "If that important event didn't happen, then Christianity and the Gospel is just a sham."

The other pets nodded in agreement and then returned to eating their breakfast. A little while later, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had finished their daily Bible study and Drake had finished his breakfast. As soon as he had put his dish and cutlery into the sink for washing, he walked over to the laptop and sat down. Mars smiled as he watched Drake then enter the internet.

"So, what are you going to search online, Drake, while your brothers and two cousins are still eating?" asked Mars to himself as he ate a piece of papaya. It was then that Drake began to speak to Blake, Jake, Susan and Lucy.

"Hey, you four," he said, "Have you heard the news from Rio de Janeiro about the project of saving the Spix macaw from extinction? An article has just been posted on the internet about the last surviving family of Spix macaws."

As he began to search for the article, Susan replied, "I think I've seen a newspaper about that, Drake."

At this, Jupiter's eyebrows rose slightly while the other twelve pets looked on curiously.

"Spix macaw?" Jupiter said in a low voice.

"Never even heard of it," said Saturn. It was a few minutes before Drake finally found the article.

"However," said Drake as he clicked on the article to open it, "The team of ornithologists lead by Dr. Tulio Monteiro and his wife Linda had recently found two more Spix macaws but also a female Lear's macaw and, even more surprisingly, a female glaucous macaw..."

"Glaucous macaw?" repeated Veggie.

"I thought that species of macaw is completely extinct," said Neptune. Drake then turned the laptop to show Blake, Jake, Susan and Lucy a picture on the article. Mars, Mercury and Venus, filled with curiously, left their fruit bowls and their group to see what Drake was showing to the other four owners. To their surprise, they saw a picture of five macaws. Two were large while the other three were small, apparently chicks. one of the large macaws had dark blue feathers, a stocky build, brown eyes, a blue-white patch around each eye and a tuft of feathers around its neck as well as three short feathers just on the back of its head. Based on its features, the blue macaw appeared to be male. The other large macaw, which appeared to be female, was slender with lighter blue feathers, a blue-white face mask surrounding its face and beak, teal eyes, and a sheet of wavy feathers behind its head. Standing in front of the two large macaws, the three blue macaw chicks looked alike. However, they appeared to have differing features. One of them on the left had dark blue feathers like the large male macaw as well as brown eyes; the middle one had cyan feathers and hazel eyes while the third chick on the far right was cerulean like the large female macaw. The chick's eyes appeared to be a shade of teal also like the large female macaws and all three chicks appeared to have separate blue-white eye patches. All five had dark grey beaks and feet. Mars then looked at the five macaws in the image and then at Venus. Then when he saw how similar Venus looked to the five birds in the picture, he became surprised.

"Hey, Venus," he said warily, "Those five macaws in the image look just like you."

At this, Venus looked at him as Drake scrolled the article downward to reveal some more pictures as Mars, Mercury and Venus returned to the others to finish their breakfast before any of their owners could command them to. Susan then leaned forward to examine the image of the blue macaw family.

"Looks like those macaws have names," she said, "The writing below the image says, 'Back row, left to right: Blu, Jewel; front row, left to right: Tiago, Bia and Carla'..."

"Who?" asked Venus confused.

"And what about those two more Spix macaws, the Lear's macaw and the glaucous macaw that have been found?" asked Mercury curiously. Then as if the answer was on cue, Drake scrolled the article down so that the pictures of those four birds was shown when Lucy interrupted.

"Let's leave that until after our lecture," she said, "We don't have time to sit here talking about that article. I'm afraid you're going to have to shut that down, Drake."

At this, Drake bookmarked the page and closed it down. He then folded down the screen and left it on the desk and left for upstairs to get ready. Susan, Lucy, Blake and Jake also finished their breakfast, packed away their dishes and cutlery and left for upstairs to get prepared also. While the five owners were upstairs, Mars turned to the other pets.

"You should have seen how similar those five macaws which I presume were named Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago looked to Venus, folks," he said, "Do you think..."

"Look, sorry to interrupt but let's finish our breakfast," said Jupiter, cutting Mars off. Mars huffed slightly and did so. Then as soon as the thirteen pets had finished their breakfast, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake returned downstairs dressed and ready to go to the campus for the lecture. Upon seeing that the thirteen pets had finished their breakfast, Jake and Blake came and took away their dishes to the sink to be washed. Lucy then looked at Dash and said, "I'll take our dog for a walk after the lecture."

"We'll also have a detailed look at the article about the Spix macaws when we return as well," said Susan, "But now is not the time."

Then as soon as they were ready, Susan turned to the thirteen pets and said, "You lot be good. We'll be gone for a couple of hours or so."

And with that, she gave Dash a fuss, petted Veggie on the head and then patted each macaw and cockatoo on the head. Blake, Drake, Lucy and Drake did the same and as soon as they saw the time, they immediately left for the front door and left the house, locking it up as they went. The thirteen pets were left alone. Sunset the Major Mitchell's cockatoo then smiled to the other twelve.

"Well, since our owners will be gone for two hours, we'll have to find something to do," she said.

"Yep," said Travis.

"But what about the Spix macaw thing?" asked Mars.

"We'll see to that when our owners return," said Jupiter, "But in the meantime, let's find something to occupy ourselves."

Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, Dash and Veggie, as well as Travis, Sunset and Mars, with reluctance, all nodded in agreement and with that, the thirteen pets dispersed. However, Venus remained behind lost in thought. Did she really look similar to the five macaws in the picture she had seen with Mars and Mercury? The answer might have to wait. Pushing that thought away, Venus left to read a book.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7- Are Mercury, Venus and Pluto actually of three very rare species of macaws?**

It had been half an hour since Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had left to go to their lecture. The thirteen pets were scattered around the living room and kitchen, up to a number of things to occupy themselves and pass the time until the five owners return. Mercury was playing a game on the Ipad, Venus and Mars were reading a book each, Jupiter was just loitering around, Saturn was fiddling with one of the bird toys Drake had purchased for him when he was a younger macaw, Uranus and Neptune were perched on the back of two of the chairs at the table, talking; Pluto and Ceres were having a game of chess while Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset were chatting. However, some of them had their heads filled with curiosity, especially about the article about the last family of five Spix macaws plus two more Spix macaw individuals discovered alongside a Lear's macaw and a glaucous macaw, and some were impatient to read that article, especially Mars the green-winged macaw. He did not want to wait until the thirteen pets' owners returned but Jupiter had insisted on waiting, much to his chagrin. Mars was not a very patient macaw at times, and when he has to wait, he sometimes huffed and complained, before complying with great reluctance. Another macaw that wasn't very patient either was Venus. When Mars had noticed how similar she seemed to the five macaws in the picture on the article, she wanted to see if he was right or not, but that had been interrupted when the five owners had to leave for their lecture and will not be back for another hour and a half. Then Venus began to ask Mars a few questions.

"Mars," she said. Mars looked up from his book.

"Yes, Venus," he replied.

"What did you mean those five macaws in the picture on that article looked like me?" asked Venus. Mars breathed a frustrated sigh.

"Well, apparently they seemed to look a lot like you but I hadn't had time to further examine your appearance and theirs and compare them to properly confirm it," he replied, "And our owners will not be back until another hour and a half has passed."

He looked up at the closed laptop on the desk and pondered.

"Maybe I could..." he thought.

"I know we didn't have long to look at the picture of those five blue macaws, Mars," said Venus, "But what can you remember from that picture and how do I look similar to them?"

"Well, one thing is they had blue-white facial markings," said Mars, "And blue feathers just like you do. Two, their beak and feet are a shade of dark grey, similar to yours..."

"They're not a type of hyacinth macaw, are they?" asked Venus. Mars frowned with irritation.

"Have you not been listening to what that article was about," he muttered in a slightly harsh voice, making Venus flinch slightly.

"Those five birds are Spix macaws," continued Mars, "The article said what species they were."

He then glanced at the closed laptop and muttered.

"I really need to get that article up again and show you," he said, "But our owners don't return until an hour and a half later so..."

"Why can't we leave it until then?" asked Venus, "I'm itching to find out if those five macaws are similar to me as well but our owners will need to know as well..."

"Look, I know you're used to handling lack of patience," muttered Mars, "But I'm not as good as you at it. I still want to find out if you really are similar to those macaws, which might lead to another thing."

"And what's that?" asked Venus.

"Calling your status as a type of hyacinth macaw into question," said Mars. Venus just looked at him silently. Nearby, Pluto and Ceres continued playing chess when Pluto (who chose black) placed his queen piece next to the king's.

"Checkmate," he said with a grin on his beak. Ceres (who chose the white pieces) then looked to see if she could move her king piece out of the queen's way. When she could see that she was indeed unable to move her king piece, she let loose a sigh of mock frustration.

"Looks like you win, Pluto," she said, "You're honestly good at this game."

Pluto smiled when Veggie walked past. At this, the teal-tinted turquoise and grey macaw turned and looked at the tabby cat.

"Where are you going, Veggie?" he asked.

"I'm going to go out for some fresh air, Pluto," said Veggie.

"Would you like to have a game of chess with me when you come back in?" asked Pluto, "I've just beaten Ceres."

"I'll think about it when I return inside," said Veggie and with that, he left for the back door which had a flap in it, designed for both Veggie and Dash to enter and exit the house as they pleased. Ceres then said, "Well, I'm going to read a book. I've grown bored of chess anyway."

And with that, she flew off to get a book while Pluto cleared the chessboard to reset the pieces in their original starting positions to prepare for the next game. Outside, Veggie emerged from the flap and walked into the back garden. He breathed in a lungful of air and exhaled.

"Fresh air," he cooed as he relished the taste and feel of the cool air of outside. The back garden was not very big but it was big enough for growing a few flowers. Susan had planted two giant sunflowers on either corner of the garden and they had just sprouted. The rest of the dirt was occupied largely by pansies, tulips, a rose and other small flowers. Veggie smiled and walked towards the exit gate and jumped onto the fence, before dropping down on the other side so that he was in the alleyway. As he continued walking, an apple core flew and almost hit his face. Veggie flinched as the apple remains hit the wall and fell to the floor. Then the tabby cat heard the sounds of a few cats laughing mockingly at him.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't that weird cat that refuses to eat fish, birds and mice," said one. At this, Veggie turned and faced the sources of the sounds to see a group of five cats sitting around three dustbins, one of which needed emptying, laughing and jeering at him. Veggie just rolled his eyes and walked on.

"Hey, Mr I-Refuse-to-Eat-Meat cat," said one of the cats, an all-black tom as he had a banana skin in one paw, ready to throw at Veggie, "How is it that you don't eat birds and fish like cats should do?"

"What are your owners planning on feeding you next, veggie cat?" added another cat, a female white and orange one, "Fruit salad or something?"

"Why don't you try and catch one of your parrot friends for lunch or something?" said another tom, a black and white one. And with that the five cats burst out into another fit of mocking laughter and the male all-black cat tossed the banana skin at Veggie. Veggie just ducked and sent the banana skin slapping into the wall. Another cat threw a fish skeleton at Veggie but he dodged that too.

"Look, while it's true that most cats like to eat mice, fish and birds," said Veggie assertively, "Not all of them do, and I'm one of them. In fact I've never even eaten a fish..."

Suddenly, Veggie was cut off as the five cats tossed more trash at him and laughed. Veggie then decided to walk back into his owners' garden when Dash appeared. The greyhound frowned at the five cats as they continued laughing at Veggie.

"Come on, Veggie," said Dash, "Let's return inside. I don't want you to be subjected to the silliness of those five kitten-ish cats over there."

Veggie agreed and followed Dash back into his owners' garden. As he followed Dash, the black cat laughed even more.

"Look, guys, he's even friends with our most hated four-footed enemies, a dog," he guffawed. The other four cats laughed and scorned at Veggie as his back legs and tail disappeared behind the gate moments before it was closed. Dash had opened the gate to come out after Veggie and had closed it again as soon as Veggie was back in the garden. As soon as the greyhound and tabby cat returned inside through the door flap, they were met by Jupiter and Saturn.

"Your little walk didn't last long, Veggie," said Jupiter surprised, "What prompted you to return so soon?"

"Oh, I had to leave because a group of five cats were being silly and throwing trash at me," muttered Veggie as he chucked a piece of fish bone away into a nearby bin. Some of the trash had managed to hit him and cling onto his fur.

"Oh you mean that gang of cats led by that all-black cat that frequent the alley between our house and next door's?" asked Saturn, "That group of cats are nothing but trouble to most other pets around here, especially birds. One of them attempted to catch Travis the other day while he was out in the front garden enjoying the sunshine. Lucy had to chase that cat off and bring him inside."

Nearby, Travis looked at Saturn in understanding.

"Very few cats are bird-friendly, I can tell you," said the sulfur-crested cockatoo as he remembered that incident, "The only cat we know to be that is Veggie."

"That's true," said Veggie. Just then the cat, greyhound, scarlet macaw and blue-and-gold macaw heard the sounds of a laptop being opened and booted up. At this, the four of them and Travis traced the sound and realised that one of the other macaws had booted up the laptop. At this, Jupiter frowned.

"Mars, what are you doing?" he called, "I thought we were supposed to wait until our owners return."

"Look, I cannot wait for much longer, Jupiter," muttered Mars with an impatient scowl on his face, "And I'm seriously itching to see if those five blue macaws really are similar to Venus or not."

As he said this, Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Ceres, Uranus, Neptune and Sunset walked in as Mars waited for the computer's desktop to show. Jupiter breathed a slightly irritated sigh. Mars's personality was frustrating to deal with at times. Mars continued waiting until the desktop was finally loaded up. After this, he used his talons to bring up the internet search engine. Because they had lived with their owners for so long, most of them, especially Mars, had learned to operate a laptop, as well as read, write and even draw pictures to some extent. As soon as he had the search engine up, Mars looked for the bookmark list, opened it, and clicked on the most recently bookmarked page, the Spix macaw article Drake had showed the group before the five owners had to leave for the lecture. The other twelve pets walked up to him and either jumped or flapped up onto the desk around him as Mars then scrolled down the Spix macaw article until he found the image of the family of five Spix macaws named 'Blu', 'Jewel', 'Tiago', 'Bia' and 'Carla'.

"Here we go," said the green-winged macaw. The other twelve pets then began to examine the image closely.

"So those are the family of Spix macaws, am I right?" asked Uranus, "We never had the chance to see that picture as we had our food to eat."

"And also Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had to be off soon after breakfast, anyway," put in Neptune.

"Are those five the last Spix macaws alive?" asked Ceres. Mars then began to read the paragraph beneath the picture.

"Well it says here that Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago were the last known five Spix macaws before the discovery of two more, a male and a female," he said.

"A male and a female?" repeated Jupiter, "Would those ornithologists get those two to breed as well?"

Mars then continued reading the paragraph when his eyes widened in surprise.

"It says here that they did attempt to get those two macaws to breed," he said, "But upon realising that they would not and after doing some DNA testing on the two to determine how closely related they were, the ornithologists discovered that the two macaws were siblings, which was no good for breeding."

"Absolutely not," said Saturn, "If a brother and a sister had offspring, the chances of those offspring inheriting a crippling mutation is rather high due to the close relatedness of their parents."

"It's also not good on the fitness of the offspring either," said Venus, "In order for healthy offspring to be produced, the macaws in the breeding pair must not be closely related to reduce the chance of crippling mutations being passed on which might reduce the reproductive fitness of the offspring."

"What does it say next, Mars?" asked Veggie. Mars then read more of the paragraph.

"It says that the ornithologists have been trying to search for another Spix macaw for either the male or the female," he said, "One that is not too closely related to either them and that is fertile. However, the task is proving difficult due to the rarity of the species."

"I'm not surprised if that family of five Spix macaws and those other two are the only known Spix macaws alive," said Neptune. He then looked down at Venus and said, "Oh, Mars, you were going to compare Venus to the five macaws in the first image?"

"I was, yes," said Mars and with that he scrolled the article back up until the picture of 'Blu', 'Jewel' and their chicks became visible again.

"When I saw that these five macaws had similar features to Venus," explained Mars, "I was a bit surprised and I've been wondering if Venus might not..." he looked at Venus and then at the five macaws in the picture and back at Venus again, "...be a hyacinth macaw at all. I wonder if..."

At this, silence fell on the other twelve pets, especially Venus. It was then that Jupiter broke the silence.

"Are you meaning that Venus might be the same sort of macaw as those five?" he asked. Mars nodded, much to Venus's surprise.

"It's because she is blue," explained Mars, "Like those five macaws in this picture..." he indicated with a point to the Spix macaw family, "She does not have the yellow eye rings and beak lappet like a hyacinth macaw and neither do those five macaws... and she also has blue-white facial markings like those five macaws do, so I'm wondering if she could be a... Spix macaw..."

The other twelve pets stared at him with surprise. For all her life as a pet since she was purchased by Susan and Lucy's mother alongside Mercury, Venus had lived under the belief that she was a type of hyacinth macaw but now that belief was due to be questioned. Then Sunset interrupted and said, "I think we should leave it until our owners get back."

"Wait, there's still a couple more things I'd like to investigate," said Mars and with that, he scrolled the article down until three more images were revealed. One was the picture of the other two recently discovered Spix macaws, the male and the female which turned out to be brother and sister. The male had blue feathers while the female had cerulean feathers, and both had an all-blue-white head. However, the photo was a bit blurry to reveal the full details of the two birds.

"Remember the Lear's and the glaucous macaws that had also been discovered?" asked Mars. He then pointed to the other two images on the right of the one of the two Spix macaws and began to read the paragraph about them. As he did so, Mercury began to look at the image of the Lear's macaw.

"'The Lear's macaw in the middle image is the only individual Lear's macaw to be discovered somewhere close to Rio de Janeiro'," said Mars as he read the paragraph, "'It is a female and she has been captured and taken to Tulio's Aviary for safekeeping so that a male will hopefully be found for her so that they can breed, have chicks and hopefully establish a population of Lear's macaws on the Blu Bird Sanctuary. The macaw in the far right image is the female glaucous macaw. She, too, had been captured and taken into Tulio's Aviary for safekeeping. The discovery of this macaw has brought utter surprise upon the Brazilian bird conservation team as the glaucous macaw is believed to be extinct in the wild. Ornithologists are now hoping that a male glaucous macaw might be found and paired up with the female so that they could have chicks and save this magnificent species from extinction as this female has been declared the last of her kind..."

As he read this, some of the pets including Mercury and Pluto looked at the images of the Lear's and glaucous macaws. The Lear's macaw had very dark blue feathers on its body, wings and tail but its face and chest were tinted with a dark teal. Its eyes and beak were adorned with a yellow-orange lappet and eye-rings and its beak and feet were black. The glaucous macaw had lush blue feathers on its body, wings and tail but its entire head was slate grey fading to blue down the neck. Like the Lear's macaw, the glaucous macaw had a beak lappet and eye rings but these were yellower than the Lear's macaws. Its beak and feet were also black. Ceres then began to look from the images of the two macaws and to Mercury and Pluto.

"Those two macaws looked just like Mercury and Pluto," she said, "Mercury has very dark blue feathers and a teal face and chest, and orange-yellow eye rings and beak lappet like that macaw in the middle image does, and Pluto, though he has turquoise feathers, has an all-grey head, yellow eye rings and a beak lappet like that macaw in the far right image does."

Pluto looked at the blue-throated macaw in surprise.

"Are you saying that I look like that macaw in the image?" he asked. Ceres nodded. Pluto slightly scoffed at the idea and looked this way and that. He then looked back at Ceres.

"But how could I be similar to that macaw?" he asked, "And Mercury be similar to the one in the middle image?"

Then Sunset interrupted again and said, "I think we'll wait until our owners return like I've said before. Leave it to them to sort it out."

The other twelve pets nodded and Mars began to shut the laptop down. He logged out of the internet and the computer and switched it off, before finally closing the screen down. Then the thirteen pets dispersed to return to their activities until their owners return.

Another hour and around ten minutes later, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had returned from their lecture. As the door clicked open, the thirteen pets all looked up as the five humans entered the house. At this, Dash barked happily and ran over to greet the five owners, his tail wagging. As the owners sorted themselves out such as putting their bags which contained equipment such as notepads and pens for note taking in lectures onto the table, Blake fussed Dash much to the amusement of the other twelve pets. Lucy then prepared to take Dash out on his daily walk and began to look for his lead. While she did that, Susan left to get a cup of tea while Drake booted up the laptop and bring up the article once again. While he did that, Blake and Jake greeted the eleven parrots and Veggie. Mars then fluttered onto a chair nearby and perched onto its back to watch Drake as he booted up the laptop and open the article. Lucy then came by with the dog's lead and called for Dash. With an excited bark, Dash ran in.

"Alright, you little rascal," said Lucy with an amused smile, "I know how excited you are with these walks."

She then clipped the lead onto Dash's collar and walked towards the door. Before leaving, she said, "I'll be around half an hour or so, folks."

Susan, Blake, Drake and Jake all replied okay as Lucy then said goodbye and left through the door with Dash. After the door was closed, Drake managed to get the article up and had scrolled it down to the picture of the Spix macaw family of five. He then called Susan, Blake and Jake over. His brothers gathered around him, followed by Susan as soon as she had poured her tea. Veggie, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, Sunset and Travis then gathered around the four remaining owners to hear what the owners had to say about the similarities between the five blue macaws and Venus. After reading some of the paragraphs to them and showing Blake, Jake and Susan the three additional images, those of the two other Spix macaws, the Lear's macaw and the glaucous macaw, Susan was surprised.

"So those ornithologists were especially surprised to discover a macaw of a species that supposed to be extinct?" she said. Drake nodded while the eleven parrots and Veggie looked at each other.

"Apparently, this macaw," said Drake with a point of a finger to the macaw in the far right image, "is the last female glaucous macaw of its species. The ornithologists are working hard to keep it safe and look for a male so that it could breed, have chicks and save the glaucous macaw from extinction."

As he said that, Blake moved his eyes from the images of the two Spix macaws, the Lear's macaw and the glaucous macaw to Mercury, Venus and Pluto as they sat on the desk just behind him. At this, he was filled with wonder.

"Hey, guys," he said, "You ought to compare the images of those four macaws to these three small hyacinth macaws, "I feel that those three could be similar to those four in the article."

At this, Drake, Susan and Jake looked at him at first, before finally looking from Mercury, Pluto and Venus, then back at the four macaws in the three images and then back at the three macaws. Drake then scrolled the article up until the family of five Spix macaws appeared and compared their features to Venus. As they did that, Mars watched on.

"The owners' suspicion about Mercury, Venus and Pluto's similar features to those macaws in the article is finally arising," he said to the other nine pets.

"Those five macaws also look similar to Venus," said Drake as he compared Venus's features to the five macaws in the picture.

"There you have it," said Mars. Then Susan began to think as Drake then said, "Do you think that Venus could be the same sort of macaw as them, Susan?"

Blake and Jake continued looking at their cousin until finally she said, "I know, let's send that team of ornithologists an email with the picture of Venus, Mercury and Pluto attached and see what they say, and then we'll take it from there."

"I think that's a good idea," said Drake, "Because I'm beginning to doubt weather Mercury, Venus and Pluto are types of hyacinth macaws or not because one, they are shorter than Neptune and hyacinth macaws are often massive birds, and two, they have features that are absent in hyacinth macaws. For example, Pluto's plumage is grey and turquoise, Mercury's face and chest are tinted a dark green while Venus does not have yellow eye rings and a beak lappet."

"Is there an email address on the article, Drake?" asked Susan, "Because I'm going to send one of those ornithologists that email."

Drake then scrolled down through the article until his eyes landed on one.

"We can send it to Dr. Tulio Monteiro," he said, "His email address is printed here."

Susan looked at the article and found the email.

"Right, thanks Drake," she said, "Now all we need is a picture of Mercury, Venus and Pluto, preferably one that had been recently taken."

Then a thought came to her as she remembered that she had a collection of man of the photos in her room, one of which was all the eleven birds including Mercury, Venus and Pluto, perched together in a tree. With this in mind, Susan said, "Drake, can you open up 'Gmail' please while I go and get the picture of all our eleven birds from my room, and Jake, can you get the scanner prepared please?"

Drake did so and opened up Gmail while Susan left to get the said picture. Sunset smiled as she saw Susan rush off upstairs and as Jake looked under the desk for the scanner. As soon as he had found it, he placed it onto the desk and connected it to the laptop.

"Looks like the opinion from the experts will lead to a final confirmation, guys," Sunset said.

"Absolutely," said Mars. As he said this, Venus looked up at the others.

"What if it turns out that I am a Spix macaw?" she asked. Jupiter looked at her.

"Well, if you are," he said, "Then that means that you will have to be taken into conservation since the Spix macaw is extremely rare."

"So are the Lear's and the glaucous macaws," added Saturn, looking Pluto and Mercury.

"Especially the latter," put in Veggie, "if that is closer to the brink of extinction than the Spix macaw."

"Wait," said Venus, "Would that mean going to Brazil?"

"I'm afraid so," said Jupiter sadly. This made Venus's face fell for she found the idea of going to Brazil repulsive.

"I'm sorry, Venus," said Jupiter, "Any animal that is part of a critically endangered species must be taken into conservation since such species are valuable and need protecting."

"That could apply to Pluto and Mercury too," said Veggie as he looked at the two. Pluto and Mercury just remained silent. Just then, Susan had returned with the picture of the eleven birds sitting in the tree. She had removed it from its frame and as soon as she was nearer the desk, Drake moved aside to allow Susan to sit at the laptop. Susan then took a pen, drew an arrow pointing to Mercury, Pluto and Venus and then placed the picture into the scanner. She then turned the scanner on and pressed the 'Scan' button. The scanner then scanned the image. As it did so, Ceres flew over to the desk and landed by the scanner but not on it. As soon as the scanner had finished scanning, Susan removed the picture and then looked for it on the computer. As soon as she had found the picture, she checked it. Then she logged into her Gmail account, Susan copied and pasted Tulio Monteiro's email address from the article and into the email to send. She then stuck the picture as an attachment onto the email and then wrote a message which included a greeting, the telling of her name and a request to identify what species the three birds as indicated by arrows were in the picture. Then after checking the email and the picture to make sure that it was loaded into the attachments, Susan clicked 'Send'. The email was then sent to Tulio's address. This done, Susan logged out of her account and closed Gmail and the article.

"Right, let's wait until he gets back to us," she said, "In the meantime, let's start studying."

"We'll need to let Lucy know what we've done as well when she gets back," said Blake.

"I'll see to that," said Jake. As the four owners continued talking and then dispersing, Veggie and the eleven birds looked at each other. Venus, Mercury and Pluto did not look happy at all.

"Well, I guess it's in the experts' hands now," said Jupiter.

"Guess so," said Saturn.

"They'll know a lot about different macaw species," said Mars, "Probably more so than us."

"Yeah, they will," said Ceres, "Since they'll have studied birds for years."

"Let's find something to do until Lucy and Dash come back from their walk," said Veggie, "Our owners will be feeding us our lunch by the time Lucy and Dash return as well."

The other pets nodded and then the group dispersed to find things to do. Venus, Mercury and Pluto were the last to leave for they looked worried. After looking at the macaws in the article and comparing themselves much more closely to see that they had similar features to them (Venus to 'Blu' and his family and the two other Spix macaws recently discovered, Mercury to the Lear's macaw and Pluto to the glaucous macaw), it was possible that these three might not be just simply common hyacinth macaws at all. However, they will find out as soon as Tulio replies to Susan's email.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8- Mercury, Venus and Pluto's species revelation shock**

A day after Susan had sent Tulio Monteiro the email with the picture of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, Sunset and Travis (with Mercury, Venus and Pluto marked with arrows) attached, requesting him to identify what species of Mercury, Venus and Pluto were, Susan Lucy, Blake, Drake, Jake, Veggie, Dash and the eleven parrots were up and about. There was no lecture today so the owners did not need to get ready to leave to go to the university, but Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had a lot of studying to do. While Lucy and the triplet brothers studied and the thirteen pets including Dash and Veggie were reading some books, Susan booted up the laptop to check her emails to see if Tulio had replied. As she opened up the internet, Mars looked up from reading a book about insect ecology. Susan then logged into her Gmail account and once she was in, she checked her inbox. As soon as she had done this, she called the other four owners over.

"Guys," she said, "Dr Monteiro's got back to me."

At this, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake put down their pens and books and walked over to Susan. Dash, Veggie and the eleven parrots also put down their books and gathered around Susan.

"Here we go," said Mars. Venus, Pluto and Mercury wore nervous looks on their faces.

"Right, let's hear it," said Jupiter.

"What did Tulio say about Mercury, Venus and Pluto?" asked Lucy. Susan opened up the email sent by Tulio and read it. As she did so, she was filled with utter surprise.

"Dr. Monteiro says that he had looked at the picture of our eleven parrots I had sent him," she replied, "And he says that Mercury is a Lear's macaw, Venus is a Spix macaw and Pluto is a glaucous macaw and that they need to be transferred to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as soon as possible for conservation purposes, especially Pluto since he is a male and that he (Dr. Monteiro) and his team had been searching high and low for a male glaucous macaw for the female they had recently found..."

As Susan's words were taken in by Lucy, Blake, Drake, Jake and the pets', especially Venus, Mercury and Pluto's, brains, they were filled with utter surprise.

"Mercury, Venus and Pluto are WHAT!?" cried out Drake.

"B-b-but we were told those three were hyacinth macaws like Neptune," said Blake as he looked at the group of pets.

"How are we going to get those three birds to Brazil?" asked Jake. Susan then continued reading Tulio's reply.

"Dr. Monteiro has said that he has sent one of his employees, Dr. Francisco Abilio over to the UK to come and see us about that," said Susan. As she said this, Pluto looked up at her with a bewildered face. Hearing that he was a species of macaw that was believed to be extinct in the wild and not a type of hyacinth macaw had blown him away and he couldn't believe it. Mercury and Venus were also equally shocked, as were some of the other pets including Veggie and Jupiter. Mars, however, was unsurprised.

"Told you so," he said in a low voice to the other pets.

"But... when Blake, Drake and Jake's parents purchased us when we were chicks," said Neptune, "We were convinced that Pluto was a hyacinth macaw. The same applied to Mercury and Venus when Susan and Lucy's mother purchased them as chicks."

"Well, now we know the truth," said Jupiter, "The experts have confirmed that Mercury, Venus and Pluto are of three extremely rare and critically endangered species. That means that they will have to be ready for a trip to Brazil anytime soon."

The other pets apart from two of them nodded in agreement. Venus and Mercury, however, remained silent. They were also overwhelmed, just like Pluto, by the news that they were not hyacinth macaws, but part of two extremely rare species of macaw, the Lear's macaw (Mercury) and the Spix macaw (Venus).

"I knew that Mercury, Venus and Pluto might not be hyacinth macaws," said Ceres, "After all, they are too small to be hyacinths and Venus and Pluto's blue feathers are too light."

"Wait, didn't Susan say that Dr. Monteiro has sent one of his employees over to the UK?" asked Sunset.

"Yeah, she did," said Mars. At this, Venus looked at him.

"Would that mean that he might just come and take us to Brazil?" she asked.

"It might mean that," said Jupiter.

"What!?" retorted Pluto in disbelief.

"But we're under the ownership of Susan, Lucy and Blake, Drake and Jake," said Mercury.

"As I've said before," said Jupiter, "Animals of very rare and critically endangered species, if found under the care of an owner, must be taken away from the owner and transferred to a conservation area, and since you three are of three ultra rare species of macaws, especially you, Pluto, you will have to face that."

Mercury, Pluto and Venus just glared back at the scarlet macaw in worry.

"He's right, you know," said Saturn, "No doubt about it."

He then turned to Pluto and said, "And for all we know, if that female glaucous macaw in Rio de Janeiro is apparently the last female of her kind, you might be the last male glaucous macaw alive as well."

"Me, the last male of my species?" replied Pluto, "How? Why?"

"Well, we have not seen other macaws like you, Mercury or Venus all our lives as pets, Pluto," explained Dash, "Until yesterday when Drake showed us all that article about the Spix macaw family, the two other Spix macaws recently found and also the Lear's and glaucous macaws."

"We'll have to wait and see until that person by the name of Dr. Francisco or whatever his name is arrives here," said Travis, "I can see Susan's telling that to the other four owners."

"I think that's a good idea, folks," said Jupiter. Just then, the thirteen pets heard Susan say, "Then it's settled. Dr. Abilio should be arriving in the UK around about tomorrow but it may take a few days for him to eventually find our address. Anyway, let's wait for him to turn up and then we'll take it from there."

Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake nodded and returned to their desks to continue studying while Susan closed down her laptop. The thirteen pets looked on.

"Well, looks like another wait ahead of us," said Veggie. Mercury, Venus and Pluto only sighed and flew off to return reading the books they had been reading while Dash left for his bed. Then Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres left, until only Veggie, Travis and Sunset were left.

"It's going to be a difficult time for Susan and Lucy if they have to give up Mercury, Venus and Pluto, folks," said Travis sadly.

"Well, it's for the good of their species, especially the glaucous macaw," said Veggie, "Since that is extremely close to becoming entirely extinct with only two individual birds left alive, the female in Rio, and Pluto."

"Let's return to reading a book," said Sunset and with that, the sulfur-crested cockatoo, the Major Mitchell's cockatoo and the tabby cat all left to join the other ten pets.

Around a week later after Tulio Monteiro replied to Susan's email, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake and their thirteen pets were up to their usual activities of studying and, in the case of the five owners, attending any lecture that was assigned for them to attend. Today, the weather outside was not very good. The skies were completely overcast and rain was falling heavily, and alongside the falling rain, the sounds of thunder can be heard. The weather forecast had predicted thunderstorms and today seemed to be one of those days for one such as this. Not very many people were out in the streets because of the weather and anyone that was wore coats and had umbrellas to keep themselves dry, but they still hurried on to their next destinations in a desperate attempt to get out of the heavy rain, while cars drove by, splashing puddles of rainwater from the road and onto the paths immediately next to them. Lucy glared at the miserable weather outside.

"What a dull, miserable day today," she muttered, "It looks like Dash's daily walk is cancelled today."

Dash sighed when he heard Lucy say this. It was clear that he was not going to walk out in such dreary weather. The last time he had got caught out in such heavy rain when Jake was walking him, Dash and Jake had to hurry back to the house and Dash had caused a right mess by shaking his soaked fur dry which sent rainwater flying everywhere much to his owners' irritation and annoyance. Dash then lay back down in his bed. Veggie was in his own bed as well, not very happy about the weather either for he had planned to go out for a walk today, only to realise that it was just too wet. On the table, Drake, Blake and Jake had placed a large bowl of fruit and parrot food for the eleven parrots including Travis and Sunset the cockatoos to eat. After the parrots began to dig their beaks into the food, the triplets left. Uranus the great green macaw eyed the weather outside.

"There's no way any of us are going to go out in that," he said, "Glad our owners don't have any lectures today."

"I'm glad that we birds don't have to go outside either," muttered Neptune, "Our feathers would become soaked and we'd probably not fly very well."

"I wonder what the weather in Brazil is like," said Ceres as she ate a piece of apple.

"I don't know," said Jupiter, "Probably warm and sunny quite a lot I should think."

"Brazil is most likely to have rain too," said Saturn, "If it were sunny all the time, the Amazon Rainforest would probably not thrive very well without the rain to balance the hot, sunny rays that cause a drying effect."

"The plants would shrivel and wilt if they received too much sun," said Mars, "Due to a loss of water through their leaves, a process known as transpiration."

"Absolutely," said Travis, "So it seems that rain is like a counterbalance to the sun."

The other parrots including the rather sad looking Mercury, Venus and Pluto nodded in agreement. Mercury, Venus and Pluto had been rather quiet lately. The revelation of their species and that they were part of three rare macaws had completely shocked them, and now they were waiting for the ornithologist to turn up and see Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake about these three and possibly take them away to Rio. Speaking of that, where was the ornithologist that was supposed to be meeting the group? Blake had been keeping an eye out for him during the week and had seen no signs of him at all. Might he have got lost trying to find Susan and company's address? London was an enormous city, the largest in the UK, so it wouldn't be surprising that Dr. Abilio might have got lost. However, the group might not have to wait much longer. While the other ten parrots continued eating their meal, Sunset flew over to the window to have a closer look outside at the weather. It truly was pouring with rain and there was not a sliver of sunshine anywhere. Just grey clouds full of rain. Sunset never liked weather like this, especially if it were in excess. When it was sunny, she sometimes went outside into the back garden to soak up the sun, especially during summer but when it was rainy, especially for so long, Sunset often wore a grumpy look on her face. She continued glaring at the miserable weather outside but she was about to be surprised by something. While Sunset continued gazing into the street cloaked with the overcast weather and the rain, she saw a man make a mad dash towards the house's front door and garden across the road. The man cried in shock as he avoided one or two cars, which stopped or swerved out of his way and continued on their journey. The man then rushed for the curb closest to the house but his foot snagged on the curb. The man fell forward as he tripped on the curb and landed flat on his face, yelping as he did. Sunset flinched when she saw the man fall face down on the wet path, her brilliant pink-white, red and yellow crest erected upon seeing the impact. The man's yelp was heard by Blake, so he went over to the front door, opened it and looked out. He then saw the man struggle onto his feet just outside the front garden's gate. At this, he grabbed his coat, put it on and rushed outside to help him. Drake, Jake, Susan and Lucy also walked towards the front door and watched Blake as he helped the man onto his feet. Sunset and the other ten parrots looked on while Dash and Veggie, who had also heard something outside, walked towards their owners curiously.

"Are you alright, sir?" asked Blake as the man struggled to regain his balance after the fall.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks. I'm Dr. Francisco Abilio, the ornithologist that had been sent by Dr. Tulio Monteiro to you guys to see about three of your parrots," said the man. Then Blake quickly took the man through the garden and both entered the house. After Lucy closed the door, the man, named Francisco Abilio, took off his soaked coat and gave it to Drake. Drake took it and left to put the coat into the dryer.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" asked Susan.

"I could do with that please, thanks," said Francisco as he wrung some of his soaked clothes of rainwater. Jupiter and his group looked on as Susan left to make the man a cup of tea and while Lucy, Blake and Jake led him to sit into a chair. Then after Susan had made the cup of tea and had handed it to Francisco while Drake handed him a towel for him to dry his soaked hair, he began to complain.

"British weather, honestly," he muttered as a thunderclap was heard outside, "It seems to be quite wet most of the time. This is the fourth day in a row that it's been raining like this. I had to find my way around this giant city to your address in this after I spent a couple of days getting used to the time zone..."

"That's British weather for you, I'm afraid," said Susan sadly. Francisco then dried his hair and gave the towel back to Drake who took it away. He then took a sip from his tea.

"It's been forecasted thunderstorms for most of the week," said Blake. Francisco sighed and then reached into his jacket. After a moment of fumbling, he produced a card and handed it to Susan.

"I'm Dr. Francisco Abilio," said Francisco, "Doctor of ornithology and the conservation of rare bird species. But please, called me Francisco."

Susan looked at the card and then gave it back to Francisco.

"So, Francisco," she said, "I believe you've come to see us about three of our macaws, Mercury, Venus and Pluto?"

"That's right," said Francisco, "I've seen the picture of your eleven parrots you've sent us by email, and I could not believe what collection of birds you've got, so where are they?"

"It was the only recent picture we had of Mercury, Venus and Pluto," said Susan and with that, she showed Francisco the eleven birds. The birds had lined up to greet Francisco. Francisco's eyes widened when he saw the collection of birds with his own two eyes.

"Wow, you certainly do have a collection of parrots you five," he said, "So which macaw and cockatoo is which?"

"This is Mercury," said Susan gesturing to the dark navy blue and teal bird. Mercury jumped up slightly in a greeting to Francisco. Then Susan introduced Venus, who also did a small jump to greet Francisco.

"This is Mars, he's a green-winged macaw," said Susan. Mars raised a wing to greet Francisco before Susan moved onto the other macaws and the two cockatoos.

"And this is Jupiter, he's a scarlet macaw," said Susan, "and Saturn the blue-and-gold macaw, Uranus the great green macaw, Neptune the hyacinth macaw, Pluto, Ceres the blue-throated macaw, and these are our two cockatoos. The sulfur-crested cockatoo is called Travis while our Major Mitchell's cockatoo is called Sunset."

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, Travis and Sunset all raised a wing to greet Francisco. Francisco smiled at Sunset while Veggie and Dash smiled, at the moment unnoticed by Francisco.

"A Major Mitchell's cockatoo," crooned Francisco as he admired Sunset, "They're one of my favourite birds. I and my wife used to have one before I joined Tulio's team. It died of old age, sadly."

"Oh, that's sad," said Susan sympathetically. Francisco nodded in agreement. It was then that Dash and Veggie jumped onto the table behind the row of parrots.

"Oh, and this is Veggie, our cat and Dash, our dog. He's a greyhound," said Lucy. When Francisco saw Veggie and Dash, he became surprised.

"Wait, you have some birds _and_ a cat?" he asked in disbelief. Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake all nodded. Francisco then frowned slightly.

"Well, it's a bit odd to have a cat AND some birds at the same time," he said, "Often they don't mix."

"That is true but Veggie here has never even killed a bird all his life," explained Lucy, "Neither has he killed and eaten a fish or mouse, and he absolutely refuses to."

"Well, that is an unusual cat you've got there," said Francisco, "All the other cats I've come across have often stalked birds to eat."

"Cats and birds would have got along perfectly in the Garden of Eden before Adam sinned against God," said Veggie, "And while it's true that they are now natural enemies after the Fall of Adam, that's not to say that vegetarian cats don't exist, and I'm one example."

Francisco continued admiring Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake's collection of birds before finally moving on to the serious business. As he prepared to explain why he had come all the way from Brazil to London, Francisco stood up and continued drinking from his tea.

"Well, I am impressed by your collection of birds, you five," said Francisco, "But it is time to move on to the main reason why I have come all the way here from Brazil. It is about the three of your birds, Mercury, Venus and Pluto. Out of your entire collection, those three birds are the ultra rare gems of the lot."

"I can see why," said Susan, "Mercury's a Lear's macaw, Venus is a Spix macaw and Pluto is a glaucous macaw."

At this, Mercury, Venus and Pluto stepped forward as Jake said, "When we received them as chicks when we were kids, we thought they were hyacinth macaws like Neptune."

"Those three macaw species do look like hyacinth macaws at first glance," said Francisco, "Especially the Lear's macaw since it has dark blue feathers like hyacinths do, but they are not hyacinth macaws. They are different species to the hyacinth."

He then walked over to Mercury and said, "Let's start with the Lear's macaw."

Blake, Drake, Jake, Susan, Lucy and the other twelve pets including Dash and Veggie then began to pay attention as Francisco launched into explanation about the Lear's macaw.

"Now the Lear's macaw, known by its scientific name _Anodorhynchus leari,_ is one of the three species of macaws that is critically endangered," said Francisco, "In fact, there is a flock of Lear's macaws living on the far east of Brazil but we did not expect to find a Lear's macaw in the jungle just outside of Rio. However, that individual macaw is the only one we had ever found. It is a female and she is currently being held in Tulio's Aviary in Rio de Janeiro at the moment and we had been sent out to find a male Lear's macaw to pair her up with so that they could breed and have chicks and hopefully establish a small Lear's macaw population here."

"Was the Lear's macaw population affected by poaching and logging activity?" asked Blake.

"Yes," said Francisco, "In fact, logging and poaching drastically affects the population of any animal, not just macaws, and it often leads to animal species being pushed closer to the brink of extinction."

He then looked at Mercury and said, "And now that I have found this male Lear's macaw in your care, which you have alerted us to first through your email with that picture of your birds attached, I now hope to bring Mercury to Rio and pair him up with the female Lear's macaw that we have so that they can breed."

At this, Mercury shook his head in surprise. He cannot imagine himself with a female Lear's macaw and chicks. Besides, having chicks had never really occurred to him anyway. However, it seemed likely due to the rarity of his species. Francisco then moved onto Venus and began to explain about the Spix macaw.

"The next ultra rare species of blue macaw," he said, "Is the Spix macaw or _Cyanopsitta spixii_. In fact, that species is precariously close to the brink of extinction. We only have seven known individual macaws over in Rio, Brazil: the family of five and the two we had recently found. Before we found the next two Spix macaws, only Blu and Jewel were the last known Spix macaws alive. That is until they had their chicks, Carla, Bia and Tiago."

"We read on that article that the two other macaws you caught were a male and a female," said Susan, "And you'd hoped that they would breed but when you did DNA tests on them to see how closely related they were and found out that they were brother and sister, you were met with disappointment and hoped to find another macaw for either of them that is not too closely related."

"That's true," said Francisco, "In biology especially population genetics, we call the mating of closely related individuals of a population 'inbreeding' and that is frequently a factor affecting the fitness of populations, especially if they are small. Inbreeding increases the chance of faulty alleles being passed on and affecting the reproductive fitness of the next generation. That was what we wanted to avoid with that pair of macaws we recently found. If those two bred and had a clutch of eggs, the chances of those eggs being inviable were high."

As he explained inbreeding, Veggie was a little confused.

"Inbreeding? What a deep concept," he said in a low voice.

Francisco then turned to Venus and said, "And now that I have found a female Spix macaw which I hope isn't too closely related to the male and his sister, which I should imagine isn't, I want to bring Venus to Rio, pair her up with the male and hopefully they will have a clutch of eggs that is viable. We've had success with the first pair of Spix macaws, Blu and Jewel. Now, I hope that we'll have the same success with the second pairing and have more Spix macaw chicks."

Venus gave a slight smile at this. She had never seen other macaws like herself all her life and this might be an opportunity to meet more of her species, now that she knew that she was a Spix macaw and not a type of hyacinth macaw. Then Francisco turned to Pluto and said, "And speaking of success with getting the first pair of Spix macaws to breed and have chicks, this brings us to the final critically endangered species of macaw, the glaucous macaw."

Francisco then launched into explanation about the glaucous macaw.

"The glaucous macaw," said Francisco, "Also called _Anodorhynchus glaucus_ , is what I sometimes call the extremely rare diamond of macaws. It is rarer than the Spix macaw and is believed to be extinct in the wild just like the Spix macaw. In fact, the species was thought to be completely extinct since the 1960s until we've found that female glaucous macaw a while ago."

"And you've been hoping to find another macaw like her," said Drake, "Most importantly a male."

"That is true;" said Francisco, "And now that you have alerted us that you have one also in your care, we now must get Pluto over to Rio and pair him up with the female glaucous macaw. Hopefully they will mate and have chicks and give the glaucous macaw species another chance in life."

He then gave the five owners a serious look and continued, "And it's important that we do. The sooner the better, in fact because if we don't take the opportunity to save the glaucous macaw from going extinct, the species might completely disappear."

Francisco then looked at Pluto and said, "And I hate to shock you but Pluto could well be the last male of his species."

"Really?" Susan said in surprise. Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake looked on in shock as did the other twelve pets.

"Yes," said Francisco, "That's why it is important that we get him to Rio and pair him up with the female glaucous macaw. The same applies to Venus and Mercury."

"B-but we've just started a degree in ecology," replied Drake, "We might not have time to travel to Brazil."

"Look, I know you have a lot to do, but this is important," said Francisco. Then he thought. After thinking, he said, "I know, I'll let your lecturers know that you have three parrots that need transferring to Rio because you see, we can't afford to miss this opportunity, as it's the only one we've got, especially regarding Pluto's species."

Drake then left to get a list of the lecturers' names so that Francisco could contact them. Francisco then looked outside at the weather. The rain seemed to have eased off.

"Well, I'd better get back to my hotel," he said, "while the rain's light."

He then reached into his jacket and gave Susan his contact number while Drake returned with the sheet of paper with the list of lecturers for him to contact. Jake left and returned with Francisco's coat which had been in the dryer. Francisco took it, said thanks and put it on.

"We'll have to have a serious think about this," said Susan as she looked at the contact card.

"Then make sure that you do," said Francisco as he prepared to leave. He finished the rest of his tea and gave the empty cup to Lucy who took it to the sink for washing. Then as soon as Francisco was ready, he said goodbye to the five owners.

"I'll see you five again as soon as you make your decision," said Francisco. Then he realised that he had not learned their names yet.

"Sorry, I never asked you five your names," he said, "What are each of you called?"

"I'm Susan," said Susan, "The other lady here is my younger sister Lucy and these three guys are our triplet cousins Blake, Drake and Jake."

Blake, Drake and Jake each raised a hand in a greeting. Francisco smiled.

"Well, it sure is fitting for a trio of identical triplet brothers to have rhyming names," he said, "Reminds me of Donald Duck's triplet nephews in Disney's Donald Duck franchise, Dewey, Huey and Louie."

Blake, Drake and Jake smiled in amusement at this as Francisco then checked that he had everything.

"Right, the next thing I'm going to do is contact your lecturers and let them know of what we have just talked about," said Francisco, "And then after that, I am going to go back to my hotel and wait for your reply. I'll see you guys soon and it sure is nice to meet you."

And with that, he left and Lucy closed the door behind him. Susan then walked up to the other four owners.

"Well, what next?" asked Lucy.

"We'll commit this to prayer tonight," said Susan, "This is a serious decision to make. Anyway, let's get take a break."

And with that the five owners dispersed. Jupiter and the others watched as the owners left to have a break from studying and Francisco's visit. Pluto walked up beside the large scarlet macaw.

"I cannot believe that I might be the last male of my species," he said.

"Well, that ornithologist did say that your species was declared extinct in the wild since the 1960s," said Jupiter.

"Well, then, it's now up to our owners," said Saturn.

"Guess so," said Mars.

"You know, I would love to go to Rio," said Uranus with a smile, "And meet more macaws like myself if our owners decide to take us as well."

"So would I," said Neptune.

"I would love to meet other green-winged macaws," said Mars excitedly.

"And me with other blue-throated macaws," added Ceres.

"It would do Mercury, Venus and Pluto good to meet macaws of their species too," said Jupiter. Mercury and Venus just looked at him. Then Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Dash interrupted.

"Well, I think we should relax and see what decision our owners reach," said Veggie.

"I should it imagine they have little time in reaching it," said Sunset, "Since after all, this is a one-time opportunity like that ornithologist said."

"Let's find something to do," said Travis. Dash then looked at the weather outside. It was still raining lightly.

"Well, even though the rain's eased off," he said, "I still don't think Lucy's planning on taking me out for a walk."

"Probably not," said Veggie, "That rain might increase to heavy once again."

And with that, the thirteen pets dispersed to find something to do.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9- off to Rio**

A few hours after Francisco had left, it was the evening. Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had just had their tea and then their evening Bible study and prayer, and had committed the potential opportunity to go to Rio for the sake of three of their pets, Mercury, Pluto and Venus. During those hours, Francisco had contacted the five owners' lecturers about what he had talked about with Susan and company and why they had to go to Rio, while Susan and her sister and three cousins had discussed about going to Rio. While their five owners had been doing their evening prayers, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset had listened in. they looked worried, especially Mercury, Venus and Pluto. Then after Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had left to prepare for bed, Susan was left alone sitting at the desk, her hands buried in her face. It had been quite a difficult day today, with a lot to take in especially about three of the macaws. Susan then sat back in her chair and sighed. It was then that she was alerted by thirteen dark forms cloaked in shadow: nine macaws, two cockatoos, a cat and a greyhound. At this, Susan looked at the group of pets as they had come to sympathise with her.

"Hey, you lot," said Susan in a tired voice as she placed a hand on the back of Dash's head. She also looked at the eleven parrots, all of which had concerned and uncertain looks on their faces.

"I know how difficult the next few days are going to be, my pets," said Susan, "But the decision has to be made as soon as possible. I did discuss this with Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake a while ago and we've decided that we'll make the decision in the morning."

At this, Jupiter gave Susan a slight stern glare. He looked at Mercury, Venus and Pluto for a second and then back at Susan.

"What is it, Jupiter?" asked Susan, "Is it about the possibility of giving up Mercury, Venus and Pluto?"

Jupiter just remained silent and continued staring at Susan with a stern glare. Then Saturn, Uranus and Neptune changed their expressions to a stern glare as well. Ceres, Mars, Travis and Sunset just remained concerned. Susan then reached out an arm and Jupiter climbed onto it.

"Let me guess, are you saying that you would like us to go to Rio?" asked Susan. Jupiter continued to give Susan a stern glare before nodding his head a few times. He then glanced at Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Mars and then at Mercury, Venus and Pluto and then back at Susan. Susan read his body language and arrived at a conclusion.

"Oh, so you're saying that if we have to give Pluto, Mercury and Venus up, you would like us to give the rest of you macaws up as well?" asked Susan. Jupiter replied with a silent nod. Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Mars confirmed their agreement by standing next to Venus, Mercury and Pluto while Dash, Veggie, Sunset and Travis looked on.

"But you're our pets, Jupiter," said Susan, "And the rest of your species aren't as critically endangered as Mercury, Venus and Pluto's."

Jupiter continued glaring at Susan, implied that he wanted to be given up alongside those three macaws regardless. Susan then smiled slightly.

"So, let me get this straight," she said, "You want us to go to Rio, take you lot with us and when Mercury, Venus and Pluto are given to conservation, you would like to be given to conservation too?"

Jupiter nodded. Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Mars also showed they agreed. Veggie, Dash, Sunset and Travis all smiled at Jupiter's decision. Then Susan, seeing the determined looks on the nine macaws' faces and seeing that Dash, Veggie, Travis and Sunset seemed to agree with them, finally smiled.

"Alright, we'll do it," she said much to the macaws' silent cheers, "Tomorrow morning, I'll tell Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake that we've made the decision together and then we'll tell Francisco that we have decided that we'll definitely go to Rio."

Susan then placed Jupiter back onto the table and stood up.

"It's settled then," she said, "And it will be for the good of Mercury, Venus and Pluto's species as well. After all, they are ultra rare and I don't want to hold up the ornithologists' team's project in saving their species, especially the glaucous macaw, from extinction. Come on then, let's go upstairs and go to bed. I'm getting tired."

And with that, Susan and the thirteen pets left for upstairs and bed.

The next morning, Susan did as she had told the thirteen pets. She had told Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake that she had made the decision that they will definitely go to Rio with the pets for the sake of Mercury, Venus and Pluto's species, to which the other four owners had agreed. Susan then contacted Francisco about the decision and Francisco, pleased about this, set to booking Susan and company's flight and arranging everything, as well as contacting Tulio and his team back in Rio that Susan has decided to bring Mercury, Venus and Pluto over to Rio. Then in the coming weeks after that day, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake prepared for the trip. They packed everything they will need and when the day finally arrived, they boarded the plane with Francisco and they took off to Rio, Brazil. Soon, the plane on which Susan and company were on touched down in Rio de Janeiro's airport and a while after that, they were on their way to Tulio's Aviary in a jeep Francisco had hired. The pets including Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset, for they had decided to come as well, were all in the trailer in five cages. Mercury, Venus and Mars were in one, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus were in another, Neptune was in a third, Pluto, Ceres, Travis and Sunset were in a fourth, and Veggie and Dash were in the fifth. Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake were in the cockpit, with Francisco driving. Susan was applying Sunscreen onto her arms while Lucy was blowing a little handheld fan into her face to cool herself down.

"Boy, it sure is hot here," said Lucy.

"Yeah, it does sometimes get very hot here in Brazil," said Francisco, "We have quite different weather from London, you know."

"Oh, we've sometimes had especially hot summers with temperatures sometimes souring into the thirties," said Susan, "A friend of mine once told me that those temperatures were comparable to those of Spain and the Mediterranean."

"It seems that Europe sometimes does see very hot temperatures then," said Francisco. Susan and Lucy nodded in agreement. On the back seat, Blake was taking on the surroundings. Rio was an awesome sight. On the right of the road they were driving down was a beach with its sandy white-brown sand. The beach was dotted with dozens and dozens of people, most of which were tourists. These people were sunbathing, playing volleyball or other games, or paddling in the water of the ocean that lapped against the beach. Most of the paddlers were children and they had smiles on their faces as they splashed each other. Other kids were building sand sculptures like castles while most of the adults were talking or relaxing. Many had beach mats and parasols up. Blake smiled as he watched the tourists have fun on the beach.

"I think after we've got our macaws to the conservation centre, I would like to go to the beach," he said.

"We will after we've dealt with the most important thing, Blake," said Francisco.

"What's the name of the beach?" asked Jake.

"It's Copacabana Beach," said Francisco, "I often went there with my wife and two sons when they were kids. It's a lovely beach, it is."

"It seems lovely," said Drake, "Especially the sand."

Lucy then looked out of the other side of the jeep and saw a group of Brazilian people dancing. These people were dressed in colourful outfits of feathers and fruit.

"What are those people doing?" she asked. Francisco looked at the group of dancers.

"They're rehearsing for Carnival," he replied, "It's Carnival season, and they're practicing for it."

"Carnival?" repeated Susan, "It's said to be one of the most spectacular parades in the world, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Francisco, "It's truly an amazing sight. So many colours and sequences of elaborate dances involved. My family have been to Carnival five times in the past."

"I would love to see that," said Susan with a smile.

"So would I," said Lucy. Blake, Drake and Jake nodded in agreement. Behind the triplet brothers in the trailer, the thirteen pets were also admiring the scene. Jupiter had his head poking out of his cage through the bars, and was relishing the Brazilian breeze through his feathers while Saturn smiled when he saw a few brightly coloured parrots fly high above the city.

"Birds, like us," he sighed admirably.

"I wonder if scarlet and green-winged macaws are common here," said Mars from his cage, "I would love to meet some of my species. The only green-winged macaw I had ever met back in London was the one owned by the jeweller on the next street. However, we rarely met."

"Speaking of birds like us," said Venus, "I had never even met another Spix macaw like myself all my life. Neither has Mercury met another Lear's macaw or Pluto another glaucous macaw."

"It's unsurprising, Venus," said Uranus, "Your species is extremely rare but this trip is an opportunity for you three to eventually meet some macaws like yourselves."

"Guess so," said Mercury.

"At least I'm not the last glaucous macaw," said Pluto.

"Well, you're the last male of the glaucous macaw species," said Neptune who sat alone in his cage. Due to him being a hyacinth macaw, he needed plenty of space. Pluto looked at him.

"He's right, Pluto," said Ceres, "Remember what Francisco said."

"The female glaucous macaw his team had found is the only other glaucous macaw they have," said Sunset. Pluto sighed and said, "You know, I'm not sure if I'm going to make a good impression on the female. We'll have to see when we arrive at Tulio's Aviary."

"It'll be fine," said Travis, trying to reassure the concerned glaucous macaw, "Trust me."

"I guess so," muttered Pluto in partial agreement. The other part was occupied by worry. It was then that Sunset heard the sounds of singing in Brazilian Portuguese above her, Pluto, Ceres and Travis's cage. At this, the Major Mitchell's cockatoo looked around and then up at the top of the cage. The other pets including Dash and Veggie also looked up and saw a pair of birds, one of which was yellow with an orange beak and legs and a green, white and pink bottle cap on its head. The other was a pudgy grey, white and red bird, and the pair was singing and dancing. Then when they noticed Sunset and then saw Neptune in his own cage, they began to chat to each other in Brazilian Portuguese. Jupiter tipped his head to one side.

"Well, whatever that canary and cardinal are talking about," he said, "I can't understand a word they are saying."

Then Sunset began to try and talk to the two birds, which were a canary and a cardinal.

"Excuse me, you two," she said, "Do you speak English?"

"We can't speak Portuguese," added Travis. Then the canary and cardinal stopped chatting in Brazilian Portuguese and laughed.

"Of course we can speak English, pretty birdie," said the cardinal cheekily. Sunset shook her head in slight shock. Then the canary landed beside Sunset and examined her closely.

"Hey, Pedro," he said with an intrigued smile, "I've never met a cockatoo like 'dis one before. Look at her colourful crest."

"What sort of cockatoo is she, Nico?" asked the cardinal. Sunset rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I'm a Major Mitchell's cockatoo," she muttered. The canary and cardinal perched beside her.

"A Major Mitchell's cockatoo?" repeated the canary, "We've never heard of one before, much less seen one."

"What's one of them?" asked the cardinal. Sunset then sighed and looked at Travis.

"Put it like this," she said, "If you've heard of a sulfur-crested cockatoo, the Major Mitchell's is similar in shape and crest except that it is salmon pink and its crest is pinkish, red and yellow striped rather than solid yellow. That's what I have."

When Sunset mentioned sulfur-crested cockatoo, the canary and cardinal flinched.

"What's wrong?" asked Travis.

"Did you say 'sulfur-crested cockatoo'?" asked the cardinal. Sunset nodded before turning curious.

"Why the negative reaction?" asked Sunset.

"We've met a horrible, horrible sulfur-crested cockatoo before," said the cardinal darkly, "His name was Nigel and he was absolutely 'orrible."

"Yeah," said the canary with a look that was mixed with both anger and fright, "He was abusive, he tortured birds, and he was disgusting."

"We've never heard of this Nigel at all," said Travis, "And if you think I'm an abusive sulfur-crested cockatoo, I'm certainly not like that."

"You probably ain't," said the cardinal, "But Nigel certainly was. He's dead now, anyway. Blu told us that he sent him flying into a plane's propeller the other day."

Sunset and Travis flinched harshly when the cardinal said this. It was then that the canary, whose name was Pedro, noticed the eleven macaws looking at him and his friend.

"Hey, Nico, look at this," he said, "Why are all these macaws with the two cockatoos?"

Jupiter sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It's because three of us are being taken into conservation," he said. Then Pedro and the canary named Nico flew up to him and examined him.

"Wow, a scarlet macaw," said Pedro with intrigue, "There aren't many of those red birds around here at all."

"But green-winged macaws and blue-and-gold macaws certainly are common," said Nico when he saw Saturn and then turned to look at Mars in another cage. Pedro then saw Neptune and then looked from him at Uranus who was in the same cage as Jupiter and Saturn.

"And you must be a hyacinth macaw, I presume?" asked Pedro.

"I am yes," said Neptune. Pedro then turned to Uranus.

"And I'm a great green macaw," said Uranus before Pedro could ask. Nico looked at him up and down.

"But... I initially thought you were a military macaw," said the canary.

"Military macaws are similar to Uranus's species," said Jupiter, "But Uranus is definitely not a military. He's a great green."

"I see," said Nico. He then began to look at the other macaws.

"And what other macaw species are present?" he asked. Then when his eyes landed on Venus who stood next to Mars, he shook his head in disbelief.

"What, I thought Jewel hated cages. What is she doing in one? I thought she was with her love-hawk Blu and their three lil' babies Carla, Bia and Tiago," said Nico. Pedro then looked at the surprised Venus and said, "Wait, Nico, this isn't Jewel. Look at her crest. Jewel does not have pigtails."

Venus sighed and said, "It's because I'm another Spix macaw."

At this, Nico and Pedro's eyes widened in shock.

"Another Spix macaw?" gasped Nico incredulously, "Bu-but I thought... Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago are the last Spix macaws alive. How can there be another?"

"There are also two more Spix macaws that had been recently found," said Mercury, "So that makes eight."

"Interestin'," said Nico intrigued.

"I guess Blu and his family might not be the last blue macaws after all," said Pedro. He then turned to Mercury and said, "And what sorta macaw are you, a mini-hyacinth macaw?"

"He's a Lear's macaw, in fact," said Neptune, "Which is another endangered species."

"A Lear's macaw?" repeated Pedro as he looked at Mercury, "We've never seen a Lear's macaw before."

"Mercury's species is extremely rare," said Venus, "And so is Pluto's species, the glaucous macaw. In fact, Pluto is the last male of his species."

And with that, she pointed to Pluto who was peering out of his, Ceres, Travis and Sunset's cage and looking at the pair. Nico and Pedro turned round and looked at Pluto closely.

"That's interestin'," said Nico, "Blu told me that the glaucous macaw is completely extinct."

Pedro then looked at Ceres and said, "And she must be a blue-throated macaw, am I right?"

"That's true," said Ceres.

"We haven't seen many of them birdies around here either," said Pedro, "In fact, we've only ever seen one family of blue-throated macaws in the jungle of Rio."

"Don't tell me that my species is very rare too, is it?" asked Ceres.

"I don't know but it seems likely," said Nico. Then the canary and cardinal duo began to move onto something else.

"So, tell us, why are you lot here?" asked Nico as he rested against Pedro's back on the top of Neptune's cage, "Come for Carnival, I bet?"

"Oh no, that's not why we've come here," said Jupiter, "Three of us are going to meet three birds of the opposite sex. Mercury and Pluto are going to meet a female of their species while Venus is going to meet a male Spix macaw."

At this, Nico and Pedro were intrigued.

"Ah, two are goin' to meet a gu-u-url, while your Spix friend is gonna meet a boy, eh?" crooned Pedro cheekily.

"Yes, that's true," said Venus. Then Pedro said, "Well, I remember our friend Blu when he told us that he was gonna meet a girl and we gave him some advice on courtship. Would you mind if we give you a lil' tip on courtship too?"

"Er... well, um," said Venus. Nico then perched next to her and said, "Oh, come on, it'll help you a bit. Right, here we go."

Pedro then perched on the other side of Venus and said, "You, bein' a girl, the advice is gonna be quite the opposite to Blu's 'cos the genders are switched. Now the firs' thing ya gotta do is wait for the male to make the first move."

"Brazilian ladies respond to confidence," said Nico. Venus tipped her head to one side in confusion.

"Okay?" she said.

"Yeah, usually it's the male that does the courtin'," said Nico, "Which is what we gotta tell your Lear's and glaucous macaw friends in a minute."

"We've already heard that," said Pluto.

"So is it always the males that make the first move?" asked Mercury.

"Yeah," said Nico. Just then Jupiter interrupted and said, "Please, let Mercury, Venus and Pluto deal with that by themselves when we come to it, okay?"

Nico and Pedro looked at the scarlet macaw.

"Are you sure?" asked Pedro.

"Yes," said Jupiter firmly.

"Alright, but remember, it's usually the males that makes the first move," said Nico.

"Absolutely," said Pedro. Just then, Veggie said, "Who are you guys talking to?"

At this, Nico and Pedro turned and when they saw Dash and Veggie looking at them, especially Veggie's cat eyes, they screamed and backed away.

"Whoa, whoa," cried Jupiter, "It's okay! Veggie's harmless."

"B-b-b-but don't ya realise what species that furball is?" cried Nico.

"He's a cat," added Pedro as he looked terrifyingly at Veggie, "Looks at those mean teeth, those claws! He could make a meal out of us any moment."

Veggie laughed slightly at this.

"That is true," he said, "But I've never killed a single bird, fish or mouse in my life. I don't like the taste of meat, anyway."

At this, Nico and Pedro calmed down and looked at Veggie in surprise.

"Are you sayin' your vegetarian?" asked Nico. Veggie nodded.

"But cats and birds are bitter enemies," said Pedro, "They always are."

"Cats and birds would have been perfect friends in the Garden of Eden before Adam sinned against God," said Veggie, "But now we live in a world after Adam's Fall, some animals had become natural enemies, with cats and birds being such a pair but that's not to say that all cats are bird eaters. Very few are bird-friendly."

Nico and Pedro tipped their heads to one side.

"I'm sorry, kitty, but I don't understand a word you're sayin'," said Nico.

"Oh, it's a story from the Bible," said Dash, "Our owners are Christians who often do Bible study nearly every day."

"Interestin'," said Nico. Then Pedro felt that it was time to go.

"Oh, we'd better be off," he said, "Our clubbers will be expecting our return. I'll hopefully see you lot again. Let us know how your courtship goes. It's nice to meet ya, anyway, including you, unusual veggie cat."

And with that, Pedro left, followed by Nico.

"Remember, you three rare birdies," said the canary to Mercury, Venus and Pluto, "In courtship, it's usually the males that make the first move."

And with that, he followed his cardinal friend and the two eventually flew out of sight. Veggie smiled as he saw the pair leave.

"Well, that's put a smile on our faces," he said.

"Yeah," said Dash.

"They are comical," said Jupiter. Then he turned to face the cockpit as the group felt the jeep move again, "Anyway, let's focus on what we've got to face."

The other twelve pets turned and sat in their cages. Soon, the jeep drove down a road flanked by a series of trees to a building. The building had a large sign on its right on which a toucan logo was stuck in the centre. Then after finding a parking space and pulling up in it, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake all got out of the jeep. They then unloaded the five cages containing the thirteen pets from the trailer. As they did that, Drake opened Dash and Veggie's cage so that the greyhound and cat could stretch their legs. Veggie and Dash were glad to be out of their cage and had eagerly jumped out. Blake also allowed Travis and Sunset to leave their cage as well to have a fly around. However, Pluto and Ceres remained in the cage. Then the group began to make their way to the building which was Tulio's Aviary. However, as they approached the entrance, Francisco told Susan and company that Dash and Veggie cannot enter the building as Veggie's presence could unintentionally scare the birds inside. At this, Susan told Veggie and Dash to wait outside and be good, much to Veggie's disappointment. Travis and Sunset also decided to accompany the cat and greyhound while the others were in Tulio's Aviary. Then Francisco and the others entered the building.

As they passed through the doors, Francisco began to explain to Susan, Blake, Drake, Jake and Lucy, who had the nine macaws in the four remaining cages, the building and the workj that he and his team did.

"Welcome to Centro de Conservaçāo Ambiental, which in English is 'Centre for Environmental Conservation'," said Francisco with his arms stretched out to gesture to the five owners the building, "Commonly known as Tulio's Aviary."

"Whoa," gasped Susan in awe. Lucy, Blake, Drake, Jake and Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres also looked around with eyes wide with awe. There were dozens of birds dotting the inside and with them were several ornithologists at work. Some of the birds were kept in cages with bandages or other medical dressing applied to them.

"This is our headquarters of the Blu Bird Sanctuary," explained Francisco, "It is where we treat injured birds and nurse them back to health before releasing them back into the wild. It is also where we keep extremely rare birds for breeding purposes as you'll see soon."

"So basically it's like a bird hospital?" asked Blake.

"Exactly," said Francisco. He then showed the five owners some of the birds still being nursed back to health.

"It is vitally important that these birds are taken care of as much as possible," said Francisco, "As you can see, some of these had been rescued from smugglers."

"Smugglers?" asked Lucy.

"Yes," said Francisco, "Smuggling was a frequent problem we had in our jungle and it is one of the major factors that negatively affect the population of any animal, particularly endangered species, and often, they are injured or even killed when they are smuggled out of a country they are native to."

"Smugglers don't often care about the wellbeing of the animals they are trying to take out of a country, do they?" asked Blake, "All they care about is the money they are going to get from selling them."

"That's very true, Blake," said Francisco as he watched a female ornithologist check a parakeet whose wing was in a cast.

"Since then, we have set up this patch of land as a sanctuary for the wildlife around Rio," added Francisco, "Especially the invaluable family of five Spix macaws: Blu, Jewel and their three chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago. We've named the sanctuary after Blu."

"Oh, I see," said Drake impressed, "That's nice."

Then Jake noticed something on one of the walls of the building. It looked like a laser eye.

"What are those devices?" he asked. Francisco followed his gaze.

"They're lasers," he said, "We've had burglar detector equipment installed into the building since the theft of Blu and Jewel months ago. We have lasers, carbon dioxide detectors, heat sensors and also cameras to monitor the building at night while most of us are absent."

"Oh, right," said Susan intrigued, "Have you faced thefts often?"

"Not like the one involving Blu and Jewel's kidnap," said Francisco, "But anyway, let's have a look at some of the bird casualties we've managed to rescue."

He led the group to a group of macaws that had just been rescued and were receiving treatment. Among them were a hyacinth macaw and a blue-throated macaw.

"We've found these birds over the course of a few days," said Francisco, "They're just recovering from their injuries and will be released back into the wild as soon as they are fully healed."

Susan then looked at one of the macaws, which was a scarlet macaw like Jupiter. However, this macaw did not look very happy at all, and glared at Susan with angry eyes. Susan backed away from the scarlet macaw's look.

"What's up with this one?" she asked. Francisco looked at the scarlet macaw as it glared at him with angry, distrusting eyes.

"I think she is impatient and can't wait to be released, Susan," he explained, "Some of the birds here are like that, sadly. That one's aggressive, as is the small green-winged macaw, the great green macaw and the blue-and-gold macaw, so don't put your fingers anywhere near her or any of those other birds."

Susan looked at the scarlet macaw sympathetically before moving on. Jupiter then looked at the scarlet macaw as Susan pushed his cage along.

"I hope you'll not be here for much longer," he said, trying to cheer up the angry looking scarlet macaw up. However, the only response he got was a massive hiss from the female scarlet macaw and a furious glare. Jupiter recoiled at the macaw's response.

"She's definitely not happy here," he said to Saturn and Uranus.

"Maybe she doesn't like being in a human's place?" asked Saturn. Francisco continued leading Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake along when he heard his name get called. At this, he turned round and saw a familiar man walk towards him and hug him.

"Tulio," said Francisco, "I'm glad you're here."

Susan and company smiled as they watched as the two men broke the hug. Francisco then led the man, who was Dr. Tulio Monteiro, to introduce Susan and company to him.

"This is Susan and her sister Lucy and their three cousins Blake, Drake and Jake," said Francisco, "They've come from London, UK."

And with that, Tulio introduced himself to the five owners and shook their hands. Susan and company also introduced themselves as well.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Dr. Monteiro," said Susan.

"Please, call me Tulio," said Tulio with a smile. suddenly, a swarm of birds flew in and perched onto his head and arms.

"Whoa," said Lucy with an amused smile, "You sure seem to be many of the birds' favourite doctor."

"Oh, yes I am," said Tulio, "I'm like their Big Mamma bird."

"The majority of the birds love him, you five," said Francisco with a smile. Then after the birds had left Tulio, he then turned and saw the five owners' nine macaws.

"So I presume you've brought your Lear's, Spix and glaucous macaw to meet their future mates, I suppose?" he asked.

"We have, yes," said Susan and with that, Venus, Mercury and Pluto appeared and looked at Tulio. Tulio then leaned down and smiled at the three macaws.

"Wow, those three macaws are pretty handsome and beautiful," he said. Mercury blushed slightly at the compliment, while Pluto gave no reaction and Venus just smiled. Tulio then admired Pluto as Jake then asked, "So, where are the two other Spix macaws, the female Lear's macaw and the female glaucous macaw?"

Tulio looked at him and said, "They're all in the place where we tried paring Blu up with Jewel. Those four proved to be a real challenge to bring in much like Jewel was."

"Really?" asked Susan. Francisco then came forward and said, "Especially that male Spix macaw. I was one of the ornithologists that had found him and his sister but when we caught and caged them, the male gave me a right slashing down my arms as I handled him."

And with that he showed Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake his forearms. The forearms looked scarred with dots of normal skin present. It was though that Francisco had been in a fight with a cat, let alone an aggressive macaw.

"Good grief," said Susan in shock.

"He also attacked me when I tried taking his sister out of the chamber to prevent the two from inbreeding shortly after we realised that they were brother and sister but thankfully I managed to escape in time with only a few scratches," said Francisco.

"Were the Lear's and the glaucous macaws aggressive and hard to handle too?" asked Jake.

"The glaucous macaw was," said Tulio, "She managed to catch my face twice with her talons as she viciously writhed when we tried carrying her to the breeding chamber. She didn't half inflict a couple of nasty scratches and draw some blood. They've healed up now but the scratches she had inflicted on my face were painful."

As he said third, Pluto began to quiver.

"That glaucous macaw's fierce?" he muttered, "Oh, boy."

"And I hope that male macaw isn't too aggressive, either," muttered Venus nervously. Then Francisco turned to look at Venus, Mercury and Pluto and said, "So, shall we put those three into the habitat with their future mates and see if they will breed?"

Mercury, Venus and Pluto looked up nervously. It was time to meet what will be their future mates.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10- meeting Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire**

Mercury, Venus and Pluto found themselves shoved through a small hatch into some sort of artificially made habitat. As soon as all three birds were inside, a metal door slammed behind them. Pluto then suddenly began to panic and backed away against the metal door, while Venus and Mercury looked nervously around with wide eyes. Pluto then shivered and whimpered. From a hidden camera, Tulio, Francisco, Blake, Drake, Jake, Susan and Lucy watched the three macaws as they stood there and as Pluto shivered against the metal door. While Tulio had pushed Mercury, Venus and Pluto into the habitat, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had released the other six macaws so that they could fly around and meet the other birds in the medical room. As the seven humans watched Mercury, Venus and Pluto's actions via the hidden camera from the camera room, Susan became concerned.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" she asked Tulio and Francisco.

"Look, just give it a chance," replied Francisco and with that, he pressed a button to turn on the lights. Mercury, Venus and Pluto flinched when a series of lights turned on, lighting up the habitat. Then after the nerves had faded away, the three began to cautiously walk through the artificially made mini-jungle room. The artificial habitat was cleverly constructed. The ground was made of a carpet of sand and there was an artificial stream with running water slicing through the sea of sand. Dozens of plants and a few trees decorated the habitats here and there, especially along the walls. The walls and ceiling were painted a sky blue with a background of trees drawn and painted along the walls, which Mercury, Venus and Pluto assumed was to give the impression of a jungle landscape. However, they knew that it was artificial. There were a few toys dotting here and there including some climbing sticks and for some reason, Mercury and Venus felt it reminded them of somewhere. Brushing the thought off, they continued pacing through the habitat with Pluto close behind. As the trio walked through the habitat, Pluto split from the other two and went a different direction while Mercury and Venus continued walking in the direction they were going in.

"Hello," cried Mercury, "Is there anyone here?"

Venus then stopped and looked around while Mercury continued walking on.

"Is there anyone here?" called Mercury again. Venus then looked at one of the plants decorating the floor and ran a talon along its leaf surface. It did not feel like a real leaf at all.

"Clever piece of artwork," murmured Venus to herself, impressed by the replica of the natural jungle habitat. Then Venus began to feel strange. This artificial habitat reminded her of somewhere familiar but she cannot point a talon on the fuzzy memory. Then suddenly, a swooshing noise snapped her out of her thoughts. That noise came from behind her. At this, Venus turned and saw nothing there. Upon seeing nothing, she shrugged and began to look around the habitat some more. However, she was unaware that she was being watched. Behind her in one of the trees, two forms, one dark blue and blue-white and the other cerulean and blue-white peered down at her. The two forms were cloaked by the shadow of the leaves of the tree, but their eyes gleamed like polished stones in the light. One pair of eyes was dark green while the other pair was light green. The owners of the eyes then began talking but their voices were too quiet to be heard. Then the owner of the green eyes, which were filled with suspicion, then began to think about making the next move. Meanwhile Venus continued looking around at the habitat, admiring the artificial trees and plants as well as the mini stream. There were also a few rocks scattered about the floor too. Venus then thought to herself as she felt the feeling of familiarity creep back within her.

"Why does this place feel familiar?" she asked herself, "Is it déjà vu or something?"

Venus continued pondering the bizarre familiarity feeling. However she was in for a shock. While Venus continued wondering why the plants of the artificial habitat were giving her apparent déjà vu, a faint shadow faded into view on the floor and the plants where she stood. Venus, at this, was startled by the shadow. It was shaped like a bird for it had wings and a tail. Filled with curiosity, Venus turned and when her eyes landed on the shadow's owner, she became transfixed by a blue and blue-white macaw as it emerged from the glare of one of the lights.

This macaw had lush blue feathers and a blue-white head. Its eyes were separated by a tuft of blue feathers above the beak. These crest feathers were blue like the rest of its body. The macaw also had a black beak much like Venus and its eyes were a shade of green, like the green of leaves. And based on its features, the macaw appeared to be male. Venus continued gazing at the male macaw as he continued flying towards her.

"Wow, he's so handsome," she thought, her amber eyes transfixed on the macaw, "I've never seen a macaw as handsome as him..."

Venus continued gazing at the male macaw as he continued flying towards her until finally; she snapped out of her trance and dodged the incoming macaw a split second before he could crash into her by diving out of the way. The male macaw then swerved around and lunged at Venus again. Then before Venus could get out of the way, the macaw had her neck pinned against a tree trunk with a talon. Venus gasped in shock as the male macaw then glared at her with his suspicious green eyes.

"Quem são você, e de onde você vieram (Who are you, and where did you come from)!?" snarled the macaw aggressively. Venus then glared back at the macaw. At this, she raised her feet and kicked the macaw in the stomach, knocking him back. The macaw cried in shock as he was pushed back before falling to the floor, releasing Venus from his grasp. Venus then spread her wings defensively in case the macaw decided to attack her again when suddenly, a cerulean and white comet rushed in and bashed into her side. Venus cried in shock as she was flung into a nearby bush. As she shook herself to, Venus looked out from the leaves. She then saw another macaw help the darker blue male to his feet. This second macaw was female and she looked very like the darker blue male. Like him, her head was entirely blue-white but her feathers were cerulean instead of blue. Her crest was similar to the male's but longer, and flowed over her crown. She had a dark grey beak and her eyes were a shade of lime green.

"É você alright, Zephyr (Are you alright, Zephyr)?" asked the female as she helped the male to his feet.

"Eu sou muito bem, Brisa, agradecimentos (I'm fine, Brisa, thanks)," said the male as he brushed his front down. He then began to look around for Venus.

"Agora onde fêz que o macaw com os dois jogos estranhos das penas principais vai (Now where did that macaw with the weird two sets of head feathers go)?" he asked. The male macaw then began to look around. Venus rolled her eyes and decided to reveal herself to the two macaws. As she appeared from the bush, the two macaws flinched and got into attack mode the moment they laid their eyes on her.

"Whoa, it's okay," shouted Venus with her wings up, "I mean no harm. Don't attack me."

At this, the two macaws lowered their defensive mood and looked at her.

"Um, Zephyr," said the female, "Is that macaw from America?"

"Well, she speaks English, that's for sure, Brisa, so it seems so," said the male, whom Venus assumed was called Zephyr.

"I'm from the United Kingdom actually," said Venus. Then Zephyr and Brisa approached her cautiously. Venus looked around a bit stunned as the two began to examine her closely.

"Are you a Spix macaw, like us?" asked Zephyr with a curious frown, "You have blue feathers... a dark grey beak... and blue-white facial markings, like us."

"Of course I'm a Spix macaw," snapped Venus annoyed, "Isn't it obvious? By the way, my name is Venus."

"Oh, really?" said the female macaw, whom Venus assumed was Zephyr's sister, "Well, I'm Brisa, and this is my brother Zephyr."

Venus then gave Zephyr a bit of a glare.

"But it was a bit out of order to attack a lady on first sight like that," she growled slightly.

"We were suspicious at first," said Zephyr, "We saw you with that other Lear's macaw and the weird macaw with the turquoise plumage, grey head and yellow facial features walk about the habitat."

"Oh, that was Mercury," said Venus, "And the other macaw was Pluto. He's a glaucous macaw."

"Glaucous macaw?" repeated Brisa to Zephyr with surprise, "I thought Lapis Lazuli was the only glaucous macaw in existence. She told us that when we met her and the Lear's macaw, Sapphire."

"Well, we've no time to discuss anything, Brisa," said Zephyr with a frown, "Let's find Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire and find a way out of here."

He then turned to Venus and said, "You come along as well. There isn't a moment to lose."

And with that, he took off, followed by Brisa. Venus, at first looked on with confusion and wonder as to what Zephyr meant. Then she opened her wings and took off after Zephyr and Brisa.

Elsewhere, Mercury was still wandering around. He was unaware that Venus had found two of the four macaws already in the habitat. However, he was about to meet another of the four macaws in the habitat as well.

"Is there anyone around at all?" he asked. He then looked under some of the bushes and moved on when he found nothing under them. As Mercury continued walking along, he was alerted by a shadow on a green area of one of the walls. At this, Mercury walked towards it to investigate. As he got closer, he saw that the shadow was shaped like a macaw. There was another macaw here and it appeared to be moving. Mercury then crept closer towards the shadow and hit behind a tree trunk. He then looked out and when he found the shadow's owner, he became awed. Standing before him and looking around was a macaw just like him. It had very dark navy blue feathers just like Mercury and its face and chest were teal tinted. Its eyes were surrounded by a strip of orange-yellow skin and there was a large piece of orange-yellow skin behind its black beak. The macaw looked stunning. It had long head feathers cascading down the sides and back of its head, stopping just beneath the shoulders, and its eyes were a stunning shade of blue, like Ceres's back feathers. And based on its features, the macaw was definitely a female. As the macaw swung her head, her woman's hair-like feathers swished this way and that in every direction she turned her head. Mercury stood there amazed by the macaw's beauty. Then he finally found the courage to say hello.

"Hello," he said. At this, the female Lear's macaw stopped and gasped when she saw him. Mercury flinched as the macaw glared at him.

"I-I'm sorry, miss," said Mercury timidly, "I only wanted to say hello."

The macaw looked at him for another second before turning round and rocketing into the air. Mercury began to give chase.

"Hey, stop, I mean no harm," he shouted and with that, he began to pursue the female macaw.

Meanwhile, Pluto was still pacing around somewhere else in the habitat when he heard squawking. At this, he stopped.

"Mercury?" he said timidly, "Was that you?"

He then began to walk slowly backwards and slide against the wall.

"Oo-o-o-oh," murmured the male glaucous macaw, his teal-tinted turquoise and grey feathers on end, "I don't like this at all. I just want to be out of here. I've just got to find the door and..."

Suddenly, Pluto bumped into something feathery. At this, he gasped and whipped in the direction of the thing he had just bumped into when he froze as he found himself staring at a blue and grey macaw with yellow eye rings and beak lappet. This macaw had an all-grey head and neck, just like Pluto, but its body feathers were a dark blue, like those of Ceres the blue-throated macaw's back. The macaw had a dark grey beak, yellow eye-rings and a beak lappet also like Pluto and its crest was a sheet of feathers, flat and sleek, cascading down the back of its head and flicked up at the ends. The crest started out grey but faded to blue towards the tips. The macaw's eyes were a shade of blue, and based on its features, the macaw was a female. The two macaws continued staring at each other in shock. It was though both of them were shocked to see another individual macaw of their species and it was especially clear from the look in the female's eyes as she glared at Pluto. The two continued glaring at each other, speechless for a while until finally, Pluto was the first to break the silence.

"Er.. are you a... glaucous macaw?" asked Pluto timidly. The female macaw continued looking at him in shock until finally she began to speak. She then looked Pluto up and down with a frown.

"Yes, I am," she said, "And... you look just... like me except your feathers are a lighter blue..."

She then let loose a slight laugh and continued, "And I thought I was the last surviving glaucous macaw but then I guess I might not be after all."

"I'm actually the last surviving male glaucous macaw," said Pluto. Then the female glaucous macaw eyed him.

"Well, come on, let's find Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire," she said, "We need to get out of here."

And with that, she grabbed Pluto's wing and dragged him along.

"Wait," shouted Pluto as he was pulled along, "We haven't introduced ourselves. What's your name?"

"It's Lapis Lazuli," replied the female glaucous macaw.

"I'm Pluto," said Pluto. The female macaw continued pulling him along until finally, he managed to free his wing from her grip and slowed to a stop. Then Pluto stopped and looked on after the female named Lapis Lazuli for a second, before flying after her.

"Wait, who are Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire?" he shouted. It was then that he heard a male macaw's voice shout, "Ah, there you are, Lapis Lazuli, we wondered where you've gone."

At this, Pluto stopped when he saw two more Spix macaws and a Lear's macaw. Lapis Lazuli had stopped before them. Nearby were Mercury and Venus. Mercury looked out of puff. He must have given up chasing the female Lear's macaw (named Sapphire) as soon as she had met Zephyr and Brisa. Pluto rushed off to join the pair. As soon as he caught up to them, Pluto smiled.

"Looks like meeting them hasn't been so bad after all, eh, you two?" he asked. Venus glared at him.

"Maybe not for you, Pluto," she snapped, "But that male macaw was rough with me when I found him!"

"And that female Lear's macaw just rocketed off when I said hello as well," muttered Mercury as he slowly regained his breath.

"Well, it is nice to meet you three," said Zephyr, "But now isn't the time to be standing here. Now is the time to think about getting out of this miserable place."

Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire nodded in agreement and with that, Zephyr beckoned the three macaws and took off, with his sister, the female glaucous macaw and the female Lear's macaw following where they disappeared into a tree. Venus, Pluto and Mercury, at this, looked at each other puzzled, before taking off after the four macaws. As they landed in the tree, Zephyr walked up to them.

"Right, let's get on with it," he said and with that, he walked off. Venus then looked at Pluto and Mercury with an uneasy look on her face.

"We're here to um... breed, aren't we?" said Pluto in a low voice. Mercury then stole a glance at the four macaws as they looked over a patch of leaves and nodded.

"Should we tell them though?" he whispered. Venus, meanwhile, remained silent.

"I don't know how they will react though," said Pluto timidly. Suddenly, a female voice said, "What is it, you three?"

Pluto, Mercury and Venus looked up as Lapis Lazuli looked at them with a slight suspicious look on her face.

"Er, well, um," said Pluto as he struggled to look for words. Then Venus interrupted.

"You're ready to escape?" said Lapis Lazuli, "Good."

"Well, I hope you three are, because this wretched place isn't where we belong," said Brisa.

"How are we escaping?" asked Venus. Zephyr then sighed and gestured to something.

"Through that," he said. Venus turned and saw a hole in the wall. It was blocked off by a grey thing with flat bars, and some of those bars looked mangled. (Note: this was the same air vent Jewel attempted to escape through in the movie).

"Oh, I see," said Venus, "But... have you ever wondered, um... why we're here?"

At this, Zephyr turned and sauntered towards her, an angry look creeping into his face.

"What do you mean?" he growled. Pluto and Mercury looked at each other and began to find words to say as Sapphire, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli's faces morphed into a look of suspicion and anger as well.

"Er, Venus," said Mercury warily.

"Well, I, um," Venus began, trying to search for a set of words to describe to Zephyr without offending him, "I was supposed to... pair up with you and..."

When she said this, outrage exploded through Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire like a shockwave. Pluto and Mercury became shocked.

"VENUS!" shouted Mercury. Zephyr then glared at Venus with green eyes burning with rage and his blue feathers puffed out.

"Wait a minute, lady," he snarled, "Were you thinking that we were going to breed and HAVE CHICKS!?"

"And I don't suppose your Lear's and glaucous macaw friends thought the same thing as well,, did THEY!?" shouted Sapphire.

"How DARE you!" screeched Lapis Lazuli. Brisa looked on furiously but said nothing. Then Zephyr lunged at Venus and screeched at her loudly. Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire paced closely behind.

"I just can't BELIEVE that you brought this stupid subject on WHEN WE'VE ONLY JUST MET A FEW SECONDS AGO," snarled the male Spix macaw.

"Look, I'm sorry," said Venus timidly. Then Lapis Lazuli turned to Pluto and threatened to attack him while Sapphire threatened to pounce onto Mercury. From the hidden camera, Susan, Tulio and the others watched the whole action with surprised eyes.

"Good grief," said Susan. Then Francisco said, "We've had this before with Blu and Jewel. However, we did play a song to help set the atmosphere when they didn't get along. Tulio."

Tulio sighed and placed a hand on a lever.

"Last time, Lionel Richie's 'Say You, Say Me' didn't exactly work, but I hope this song does."

Back in the artificial habitat, Venus continued trying to defend herself from Zephyr's rage while Pluto and Mercury, already terrified by Lapis Lazuli, Brisa and Sapphire's enraged looks, hid behind her.

"Look, sorry to enrage you," continued Venus, "But we're ultra rare species. Lapis Lazuli and Pluto are the last pair of glaucous macaws alive and if they don't..."

At this, Lapis Lazuli lurched at Venus and screeched in her face. Venus flinched harshly while Mercury and Pluto backed away. It was then that the lights suddenly changed colour and a mirror ball came down from the ceiling. Then a song, 'Take My Breath Away' by Berlin started playing. Venus looked at the mirror ball with a bewildered look on her face while Mercury and Pluto were taken aback by the sudden change of atmosphere.

"Okay, now we didn't expect that at all," said Mercury. Venus, however, said nothing at first but then she became mesmerised by the song.

"But this Top Gun song is in fact, very romantic sounding," she cooed softly.

"Yeah, absolutely," said Pluto. Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire, however, looked on with glares on their faces. Venus then nodded to the beat of the Berlin song while Pluto sung some the chorus.

"You take my breath awa-a-a-a-a-ay," crooned Pluto, "Oh; you certainly did a good job performing that song, Berlin."

"They certainly did," said Venus in agreement. Suddenly, a blue and blue-white blur shot in and tackled straight into Venus. Venus gasped in shock as she and Zephyr careened from the branch and landed into a patch of vegetation below. Pluto and Mercury were stunned by Venus's sudden disappearance when all of a sudden; a blue and grey blur charged into Pluto and knocked him off the branch. Pluto cried in utter shock as Lapis Lazuli, fuelled by anger, had pounced onto him. Then Mercury was tackled by Sapphire and knocked off the branch. Then a wild chase started up between Zephyr and Venus as the enraged male Spix macaw began chasing the pigtailed female around the habitat, screeching and squawking angrily while Lapis Lazuli and Pluto began wrestling with Lapis Lazuli throttling Pluto. Sapphire then began to chase Mercury wildly around the habitat as well. From the hidden camera room, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake were stunned. However, they were stunned for a different reason.

"Wow, looks like that male macaw's fallen head over feet in love with Venus," said Susan.

"So has that female glaucous macaw with Pluto and that female Lear's macaw with Mercury," said Lucy. Tulio sat back in his seat and smiled proudly.

"Then I guess Berlin's Top Gun classic was a success," he said, "It was Francisco's idea to use that song in case things didn't work out like they almost didn't."

"Yup," said Francisco proudly, "Anyway, let's leave them and check back on them later."

And with that, the seven humans left the room. Lucy looked at the camera picture one last time and followed the others out. Then Drake felt his stomach rumble.

"You know something, I'm getting hungry," he said with a hand on his belly. Blake and Jake nodded in agreement.

"I know it's dinner time," said Tulio. Then Francisco said, "I know, I'll take you to one of my favourite restaurants. I was planning on taking my wife and my two sons to that place for dinner today and they'll be expecting me to arrive. If you five come with me, I'll introduce you to my family."

"Oh, I'd love to meet your wife and sons," said Susan.

"So will I," said Lucy.

"Us too," said the triplet brothers together.

"Then it's settled," said Francisco.

"And I have to go out and see how my wife Linda and our adoptive son Fernando are doing," said Tulio. Then the group began to leave. Blake became concerned about Venus, Mercury and Pluto in the artificial habitat or breeding chamber.

"Will our three macaws be alright in there?" he asked.

"Oh, they will," said Francisco with assurance, "And don't worry. We have new security systems installed and any chance of a burglar succeeding in entering this place and stealing anything is slim."

Blake sighed. He then looked at Jupiter, Mars, Ceres, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune as they socialised with some of the birds in the aviary.

"They'll be alright too," said Francisco. Then he checked his watch and said, "Come on, let's hurry. My wife will not be impressed if I turn up late."

And with that, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake followed Francisco. Neptune watched the six humans leave.

"I wonder how Mercury, Venus and Pluto are doing with their counterparts in the artificial habitat," he said to Uranus and Saturn. Back in the artificial habitat through the camera, there was commotion. Pluto and Mercury had gone into hiding while poor Venus was still trying to evade being throttled by the still-enraged Zephyr. Venus gasped as Zephyr swooped down on her and ducked. Then Venus evaded the attacks from Lapis Lazuli, Brisa and Sapphire before running towards the camera. The back of her head completely obscured the camera as she cried in fright before ducking, sending Zephyr crashing headfirst into the camera, damaging it and causing the screen to not work properly. This was obviously no different from how Jewel attacked Blu when he enraged her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11- a second theft at Tulio's Aviary**

Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake left Tulio's Aviary through its entrance and prepared to go to Francisco's favourite restaurant for dinner where Francisco's family was expecting him. Before leaving, Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset had opted to their five owners to stay outside the entrance to Tulio's Aviary and wait for them to return to pick them up before going off to a hotel room. Susan had told Dash, Veggie and the two cockatoos to be good and that she and the other four owners Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake will be back by around sundown. Lucy, Blake, Jake and Drake then took out Dash, Veggie, Sunset and Travis's food bowls, set them down before them and filled them with the food while Lucy set up two of the cages used for transporting the pets for the four pets to retreat into in case they wanted shelter. She also placed some toys in the cages in case the cat, greyhound or the two cockatoos wanted something to play with. Then as soon as Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had finished checking everything to see if Dash, Veggie, Travis and Sunset would be alright while they were away for a while and that they had everything to occupy themselves, they left with Francisco, got into his jeep and drove away to the restaurant.

It was approaching evening and the sun was sinking closer towards the horizon. Workers in Tulio's Aviary were leaving to go home apart from a few who had nightshift jobs to take care of, one of them being guard duty. Although Tulio's Aviary had some anti-burglar devices installed, guards still went on patrol in the building, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity which might imply someone trying to break into the building. While the majority of the workers were leaving the building to their cars to go to their homes to relax for the evening and prepare dinner for themselves and in some for their families, Veggie sighed as he ate his dinner.

"You know, I'm still disappointed that I'm not allowed to enter Tulio's Aviary, Dash," he muttered, "I'm bird-friendly. I'm sure I'll be alright with those birds inside."

"Yeah but don't forget," said Dash as he ate some of his dog food, "You're a cat, and cats are often a bird's natural enemy. If those birds saw you in there, they'd be driven by instinct to flee from you."

"They'd think that you'd catch them to eat," said Sunset as she ate a piece of pineapple.

"They wouldn't know or understand that you're a vegetarian," said Travis. Veggie sighed.

"It's too bad that we cats and most birds are natural enemies," he said, "They got on perfectly before Adam sinned against God in the Garden of Eden."

"Yeah, but after Adam sinned against God, some of the animals became natural predator-prey enemies, and sadly the relationship between cats and birds was one of them that fell into that category," said Travis, "There are very few cats out there that are bird-friendly but most of them will not hesitate to catch a bird and turn it into a meal."

Veggie just looked at him and finished his meal which consisted of vegetarian cat food.

"Well, looks like I've finished my dinner," he said as he looked at his empty food bowl, "Now to wait for you three."

He then sat down and waited patiently for Dash, Travis and Sunset to finish theirs. However, the four pets were about to be disturbed by something. The number of employees from Tulio's Aviary had decreased drastically and there were by now only a few cars left in the parking region. During a typical workday, the car park was usually full of cars but when it was evening or the weekend, the number of cars present was lower. Just as Travis had finished the last piece of apple, he thought he saw something black out the corner of his eye. At this, he looked up and saw a strange shadowy object approach Tulio's Aviary's entrance. As the sulfur-crested cockatoo looked closely at the object, he realised that it was a large cloak covering something or rather, based on the shape of the object's top, several things. He alerted Sunset, Veggie and Dash.

"What is it?" asked Dash. Travis pointed a white feather of his wing at the approaching object. When Dash, Veggie and Sunset saw the large cloaked object, Sunset dropped a piece of pineapple she was eating and dived into one of the cages set down by Lucy before she left with Francisco and the others to the restaurant. Veggie, Dash and Travis followed. Then the cat, greyhound and two cockatoos looked out as the large cloaked thing or things stopped just outside Tulio's Aviary's entrance.

"That is indeed strange," said Sunset in a low voice, "I wonder what or who is under that cloak and why they are here."

Dash, however, felt suspicion seep in when he thought he saw some feet just peering through a gap between part of the cloak's edge and the floor, as well as a brief glint of light from a reflective object. There was also no-one around, which added to Dash's suspicion.

"This isn't right at all," the greyhound said with a frown, "What or whoever is under that cloak shouldn't be here."

Sunset then looked harder at the glint. The glint implied a metallic surface, which further implied that something made of metal was also under the cloak. An idea of what it could be entered Sunset's head, but it was a guess that she didn't like at all.

"Is that a..." she began. Veggie, Dash and Travis shot her a horrified glare. Then Veggie frowned.

"We're going to follow that mysterious cloak as soon as it leaves Tulio's Aviary and see whoever hiding under it is," he said.

"Good idea," said Dash, "I don't like this one bit at all."

"Neither do us," said Travis and Sunset together. Then the four pets continued to watch the mysterious figures under the cloak as they deployed something. Interestingly enough, they were not at the doors at all, which was even more unusual.

Back in the medical room of the aviary, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Mars were preparing to turn in for the night. They had socialised with many of the birds here and had managed to make some friends. However, one particular group of birds that had most of their attention was the unhappy female scarlet macaw and her companions. Neptune smiled as he watched two of the employees who were on nightshift tonight as they walked around and checked the anti-burglar devices, such as the trip lasers, and making sure that they worked properly.

"Well, it won't be long now until the nightshift workers start their duty," he said to Saturn and Uranus.

"I'm surprised that a theft has actually happened here before," said Uranus, "Involving those two Spix macaws named Blu and Jewel."

"From what I've heard from one of the discussions from the human doctors here," said a parakeet, "A cockatoo managed to knock out the guard with some sort of cloth soaked in sleeping gas and had allowed a thief in to snaffle those two blue macaws."

"A cockatoo?" asked Saturn.

"Nigel," said the parakeet darkly, "He's that infamous sulfur-crested beast who had a burning hatred of exotic birds like us. He loved to torture us and see us in pain and distress, especially when we were in a helpless situation such as in the cages of the smugglers' den waiting to be taken out of Brazil to an unknown demise. A toucan friend of mine told me that he had driven a peach-fronted parakeet into insanity by that cockatoo psycho's abuse."

"Good grief," murmured Uranus in shock.

"How did that Nigel cockatoo come to hate exotic birds?" asked Neptune.

"Apparently," said the parakeet, "He was a famous show bird until a parakeet came along and replaced him. Since then he had developed an extremely bitter hatred of exotic birds which drove him into the criminal activity of smuggling. That's what I heard anyway. I hope you guys never meet him. He's a cockatoo not to mess with."

"I hope we never do," said Saturn in disgust, "There's no way we would have a bird with such an attitude towards exotic birds like him at all."

"Especially if he takes pleasure in torturing caged birds," said Neptune. Uranus nodded in agreement. Across the room, the female scarlet macaw and her companions were in their cages. With the female scarlet macaw were a female green-winged macaw who was rather small for her species, a female great green macaw, a female blue-and-gold macaw, a female hyacinth macaw and a male blue-throated macaw. They were in a cage of their own and the male blue-throated macaw had his left wing in a bandage, implying an injured wing but it wasn't a fracture. All six birds looked very despondent and/or angry. As they continued looking down at the floor with angered or sad eyes, Jupiter, Ceres and Mars observed them.

"You know, ever since we first saw that group," said Mars, "They've always had that look. I wonder why."

"I thought all the birds here would be happy since they know they are in good human hands getting their injuries treated," said Ceres, "But not those six, including that blue-throated macaw with his wing in a bandage."

"I don't know," said Jupiter who was equally puzzled, "I'm thinking about talking to them."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" asked Mars warily, "They could be snappy. Remember when that scarlet macaw glared and hissed loudly at you after you gave her a word of encouragement."

"I'm aware of their potentially short fuse, Mars, thanks for reminding me," said Jupiter and with that he began to approach the six macaws. Ceres and Mars followed closely behind. As Jupiter slowly approached the angry female scarlet macaw at a slow and careful pace, the female scarlet macaw turned her head up and glared at him. The female scarlet macaw had redder feathers than Jupiter's vermillion (red-orange) plumage and her wings were a brilliant yellow with wing flight feathers a lush blue. Her tail was blue and then red and she had stunning yellow eyes. Her eye colour was similar to Venus's amber eyes but brighter. The scarlet macaw's head feathers looked quite unusual. The feathers were arranged like a flower's petals and they were tied together by a piece of green string-like thread. Like all scarlet macaws, she had a white mask of skin surrounding her eyes and beak, a black and white beak and greyish feet. Her mask of skin was heart-shaped and her body build was slender, slimmer than Jupiter's burly build. When the scarlet macaw saw Jupiter, she scowled.

"What do you want?" she growled in a low voice. Jupiter stopped.

"I'm sorry to scare you," replied Jupiter politely, "But I'm wondering why you and your five companions are so down and angry."

The female scarlet macaw then bowed her head again and sighed as though bored or frustrated. Her eyes were tinted with a look of anger and frustration.

"We want to be out of this miserable place," she growled in a low voice, "And flying free in the jungle, away from these wretched two-legged pests."

"Yeah," said the rather small female green-winged macaw. Jupiter shook his head and blinked his eyes with slight hurt and shock at this comment. Then Ceres looked at the green-winged macaw. To her surprise, the green-winged macaw looked rather small. She was petite, and was shorter than Mars. Like all green-winged macaws however, her feathers were red and she had green and blue wings. Her blue wing flight feathers appeared to be a shade of azure. The macaw also had a black and white beak, white facial skin and a slender build to her body. Her crest was a sheet of feathers that flowed from the top of her crown and down the back of her head. However, it was flat and did not stick out at the back. Her eyes were a shade of green. Her tail was almost entirely red with barely any blue visible. When Mars saw her, he was surprised at how small she was. He had never seen a green-winged macaw as small as this one as she was almost half the size of Jupiter, and wondered if the little green-winged macaw had suffered a growth problem as green-winged macaws weren't often this small, especially as adults. Like the female scarlet macaw, the diminutive green-winged macaw also had a moody and angry look on her face. Behind the green-winged macaw, the great green macaw looked less angry but still had a frown on her face. The hyacinth, blue-throated and blue-and-gold macaws also looked despondent. Then Mars began to ask his first question.

"Why?" he asked the scarlet macaw, "Why do you want to be out of this place?"

The scarlet macaw shot him a glare and bushed her feathers out.

"It's none of your business, nosy green-wing," she snapped, making Mars flinch and put on a shocked face, "And don't you DARE bother Chiquitita, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Orquidea here either."

Mars then scowled.

"I was only asking a polite question," he retorted when suddenly, a yellow and teal-tinted turquoise wing slapped over his beak. Jupiter had covered his beak with a wing.

"Don't start an argument, Mars," he said firmly, "I think it's best if we leave those six macaws alone. They are not in the mood for talking after all."

"Then please DO!" shouted the scarlet macaw angrily and harshly.

"Yeah," said the small female green-winged macaw. The hyacinth, blue-and-gold and great green macaws also shot Jupiter, Mars and Ceres a glare while the blue-throated macaw just gave them a sad look as if to say, 'please, just go.'

Jupiter opened his beak at the two red macaws' snap while Ceres recoiled in shock. They had never known a group of macaws to be so bossy and rude. However, they knew better than to stay and get into an argument with these six moody macaws, so they left. As they flew away, Ceres looked back at the six macaws.

"Talk about grouchy," she said in a low voice to Jupiter and Mars, "Even the sad looking blue-throated macaw didn't want us anywhere near them."

"Is it any wonder Francisco told Susan not to put her fingers anywhere near those six," said Jupiter, "Otherwise they would have probably bit her."

Then the three macaws landed on the table with Neptune, Uranus and Saturn. Saturn then looked out of the window and saw that the skies were getting dark as the sun was setting.

"Well, I hope our five owners and Francisco aren't too long with their little trip to the restaurant with Francisco's family," he said, "It's getting dark out there."

"Yes," said the parakeet nearby, "And it's time to turn in for the night as well."

And with that, he yawned. Neptune also yawned.

"Yep, bed time for us all, I think," said Jupiter.

"But what about Mercury, Venus and Pluto in the breeding chamber?" asked Mars. Jupiter was about to answer when a shadowy figure appeared out the corner of his eye. At this, he turned and looked at it.

"What in the world..." he said in a low voice. Then he frowned when he noticed the shadow's shape.

"I hope that's not Veggie since Francisco had forbidden him from entering this bird place," he said annoyed and flew off to investigate. Neptune, Uranus, Ceres, Mars, the parakeet and Saturn looked on with raised eyebrows.

Back in the breeding chamber or artificial habitat, Venus, Pluto and Mercury were trying to rest in a hollow in two of the trees: Venus in one and Mercury and Pluto in the other. They, especially Venus, were tired from the intense flying around they had to do to escape the enraged Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire, especially Venus who was forced to face the brunt of the four macaws' wrath after Mercury and Pluto flew into hiding. Pluto was visibly shaken. He had been hiding in the tree he and Mercury were currently in now and had refused to come out while poor Venus had to face the wrath of the four enraged macaws alone. Pluto hated fights and arguments and always dashed off to hide, especially when he got dragged in. Lapis Lazuli's fury had shaken him greatly. However, after Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire had calmed down and cooled off, Pluto had calmed down. Mercury and Venus had also calmed down but the wild chase had worn them out.

Pluto and Mercury lay in their chosen hollow, tired and relieved that the four macaws had stopped being angry. Venus was in the hollow of the adjacent tree. She was the most worn out of the three which was no surprise for she had faced most of the four wild macaws' anger. While Venus, Mercury and Pluto were trying to rest in their hollows, they heard the voices of three of the wild macaws as they chatted loudly. Amidst the chatting were the sounds of metallic crunching.

"Boy, I can't wait to get out of this place, you two," growled Brisa's voice, "Especially me and my brother."

"Yeah, neither can us two," said Lapis Lazuli's voice.

"Who do those humans think we are?" snarled Sapphire's voice, "Collector's items? We're _animals_ for goodness' sake! We're living things, not mere objects."

"Huh, it seems to be the thing with humans. They think we're nothing more than collectable things," muttered Brisa's voice again. Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire's voices sounded in agreement. Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire and Brisa were sat in a triangle on the floor, talking. Because they were talking so loudly, their sounds kept interrupting Venus's attempts to doze off and she kept turning one way or the other in a frustrated attempt to sleep. Mercury turned and saw Venus mutter tiredly and in frustration and then eyed the three female macaws on the floor. Zephyr was at the air vent, trying to pry the metal bars open with a rock but seemed to be struggling. Seeing the lack of consideration the three female macaws on the floor had for Venus, Mercury jumped out of the hollow, fluttered down to the ground and walked over to them, a slight frown on his face. When Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli and Brisa's eyes caught a dark navy blue and teal form with grey eyes and orange-yellow facial markings approaching them, they turned and looked at him with scowls on their faces.

"What do you want?" growled Brisa with hostility. Mercury flinched at Brisa's attitude, and also at the glares on the three female macaws' faces. Then he managed to put on some boldness.

"Can you please try and keep your voices down?" he asked as gently and politely as he could, "Venus is trying to sleep. She's very tired."

"Oh, we're sorry about that," replied Lapis Lazuli sarcastically, "We're only trying to have a talk."

"Yeah," said Sapphire obnoxiously. Then Brisa let loose an irritated sigh.

"Why don't you just BUTT OUT and LEAVE US ALONE!?" she shouted, "You and your two friends have caused us enough trouble already!"

Brisa's shouts made Venus groan and turn over as she tried in vain to drop off.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude but you're keeping Venus awake," said Mercury, barely restraining himself from retorting too fiercely. As soon as he had finished this sentence, a maya blue macaw with pigtails touched down behind him and walked to his side. Mercury was slightly startled by Venus's sudden and unexpected appearance.

"Venus," he said surprised, "I thought you were trying to sleep."

Venus looked at him with a tired and irritated look on her face.

"I gave up because those three wouldn't keep their voices down," she muttered. Then the Spix and Lear's macaws were joined by a teal-turquoise and grey bird as Pluto had decided to join them. Lapis Lazuli, Brisa and Sapphire laughed mockingly at Venus's irritated response to Mercury's surprised sentence. Venus then looked at the three macaws as they continued to titter while Pluto said nothing.

"I seriously don't like your attitudes, you three," Venus muttered, "Plus, Zephyr's activity with that air vent grate isn't helping either."

"We're trying to get out of this wretched place," snapped Brisa, "My brother is trying to make a hole in that grey thing blocking that hole in the wall large enough for us to climb through and escape."

"Get out of this place?" asked Mercury curiously, "Why?"

Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire and Brisa just stood there and looked at each other.

"He asked you a question, Brisa," spoke Pluto for the first time but his voice was heavily coated with timidity as he feared another attack from one of the three free-spirited macaws. Then Sapphire stepped forward. She shook her head to one side to shift two of her long head feathers out of the way for they sometimes cloaked her eyes and face.

"You three wanna know why?" she growled, "It's because of those wretched humans. We're not going to tolerate being held here as though we're some sort of objects."

"They were only trying to save our species," said Venus irritated, "They never had collecting you just for your feathers in mind at all."

"Well, those wretched humans that caused us a lot of trouble in the Amazon rainforest certainly did," retorted Brisa. As she said this, Zephyr slapped a wing against the grate and returned to the other macaws. Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire turned and looked at him.

"Any progress?" asked Sapphire. Zephyr breathed an irritated sigh.

"Nothing," he snapped, "I just cannot pry the horizontal grey stick things wide enough for us to squeeze through. It's hopeless. We're stuck in here."

"Well, that's just great," muttered Lapis Lazuli sarcastically. Sapphire also rolled her eyes while Brisa sat down. Then Zephyr's green eyes were caught by the presence of Mercury, Venus and Pluto.

"What do those three pesky birds want?" he asked fiercely.

"They want to know why we want out of here," Brisa said irritably. Zephyr rolled his eyes and then faced the three domesticated macaws.

"Well, the answer's quite simple," he muttered, "We want out of this human's place for we don't belong here. Furthermore, those humans are nothing but trouble. All of them are, in fact."

"How are they trouble?" asked Mercury. Sapphire eyed the male Lear's macaw with an irritated look on her face.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked in a low voice. Then Venus looked at Sapphire in shock.

"Does that include those who care for the environment and the animals that live in it?" she asked.

"There are NO humans who care for the environment at all," retorted Zephyr, "What makes you three disagree with that?"

Then a smile of condescending mockery crept into Sapphire's beak.

"Let me guess," she said, "You three are pets of some of those wretched two-legged pests."

"How did you know?" asked Mercury in shock. Then he made a scowl when he realised what Sapphire had just called Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake.

"Wait, did you just call our five owners 'two-legged pests'?" he asked angrily, "How dare you!"

"Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake and Drake are NOT pests," put in Venus, "They're our loving owners who care for us and had raised us alongside some other birds including a scarlet macaw named Jupiter for around fifteen years."

This only made Sapphire's condescending attitude expand like a balloon. Zephyr then made a smile of mockery.

"It seems that you three pesky pets have absolutely no idea that we macaws were meant to live in the wild," he said. Venus widened her eyes in shock at this remark while Mercury and Pluto just looked at each other.

"What have those pesky two-legged pests done to you?" asked Lapis Lazuli with an equally condescending attitude, "Make you believe that all humans are loving and caring? Well, that is not true, you 'I-have-no-idea-about-the-wild' macaws."

"Look, while it's true that there are humans who don't care about the environment or us animals," said Venus defensively, "Not all humans are like that."

"The ornithologists here are an example of a group of humans who care for the animals and their environment, as well as the conservation of rare species, in this case, birds," said Mercury.

"How? By forcing us to reproduce when we're not ready?" asked Sapphire rhetorically, "I don't think so."

"You wouldn't believe what those wretched humans believed Brisa and I were when they caught us and brought us to this miserable place," muttered Zephyr, "They thought we'd be a potential breeding couple that would have chicks."

Brisa flinched with disgust as Zephyr mentioned this.

"But thankfully, they discovered that we were brother and sister," added Zephyr. He then turned to Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli and said, "When those two were stuffed into here, we told them that we were brother and sister and they had been surprised."

"We actually thought you were a couple at first," said Sapphire, "Before you told us."

Lapis Lazuli just said nothing. Then Brisa looked at Venus, Mercury and Pluto and said, "And then when you three were brought in, it eventually became clear that those pesky humans wanted you three to pair up with my brother, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire to have chicks when we just weren't ready."

"Look, I'm sorry to have offended you about that earlier," said Venus, "But it was for the good of the species."

"The Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws are extremely rare, didn't you know," said Mercury, "And the only way to increase their population and save them from extinction is through breeding."

He then glanced from Pluto to Lapis Lazuli and continued, "And that is especially important for the glaucous macaw species. There was an article about rare blue macaw species and it stated that the glaucous macaw is believed to be extinct in the wild, which means Pluto and Lapis Lazuli are the last surviving glaucous macaws in the whole world."

He then looked at Venus and then at Zephyr and continued, "As for the Spix macaw, as that species is now not as close to the brink of extinction as the ornithologists has managed to have the first pair of Spix macaws, Blu and Jewel, breed and have three chicks..."

When Mercury mentioned Jewel, Zephyr and Brisa's eyes lit up and their heads rose.

"Wait, did you say Jewel?" asked Zephyr.

"Yes," said Mercury.

"Is she alive?" asked Brisa.

"Why do you ask that?" asked Venus. Zephyr then glared at Venus, Mercury and Pluto before sighing.

"I'm afraid you lowly pets won't understand," he said. At this, Venus walked up to him and made a scowl.

"Just tell us why, Zephyr," she demanded. Brisa's beak dropped open in shock at how she spoke.

"Don't you dare speak to my brother like that!" she growled, "Do you want us to chase you around this place again?"

Venus backed away at this threat. Then Zephyr looked at Venus, Mercury and Pluto again. At first there was a moment of tension hanging over the seven macaws until finally Zephyr relented.

"Brisa, Jewel and I come from a tribe of Spix macaws that live deep in the Amazon rainforest," he explained, "Sapphire is from a tribe of Lear's macaws."

Venus and Mercury's heads rose in shock.

"There are more Spix and Lear's macaws out in the Amazon?" asked Venus.

"There were but they're dead now," said Zephyr.

"How did they die?" asked Pluto timidly.

Brisa looked at the male glaucous macaw and said, "They were killed by a fire... caused by loggers..."

Then Brisa and Zephyr began to shudder as they felt the bad memories flood back into their heads. Tears began to well in their eyes. Then Zephyr began to speak in a strangled voice.

"There was just... fire and smoke... everywhere," he moaned, "Trees were ablaze... animals were fleeing in fright... I, Brisa, and my father Tornado and mother Gael had to fly through that inferno to escape being burned..."

As Zephyr explained this, Venus, Pluto and Mercury put on sympathetic faces and shuddered.

"And after we had managed to escape the fire," continued Zephyr as a tear fell from his eye, "We managed to settle into a patch of jungle we believed was peaceful for it had mane other birds but one day several years after that, the entire community suddenly erupted into indescribable chaos. Birds were rocketing away from something as spider-web shaped things flew after them."

"And you know what caused the chaos didn't you?" asked Brisa.

"Smugglers?" answered Venus.

"YES!" snapped Zephyr, "Smugglers had intruded into that patch of jungle and during the chaos, Brisa and I were separated from Mom and Dad and were forced to flee the scene where we settled near Rio."

He then began to sob.

"And we were forced to fend for ourselves from then until now," said Brisa but then she began to break down. Mercury, Venus and Pluto looked on sympathetically as did Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli. Then Sapphire stepped forward and said, "That same fire also tore me from the Lear's macaw tribe. However, unlike Zephyr and Brisa who were separated from the Spix macaw tribe together with their parents, I was left alone and was forced to flee that hellish scene..."

Then it was her turn to weep. Mercury looked at her sympathetically.

"That is a sad and traumatic experience you three faced," he said.

"Traumatic?" said Venus in disbelief, "More like catastrophic."

"I agree," said Pluto, "I hope the three of us would never get caught in a forest fire."

Then Zephyr glared at the trio and said, "And that is why we loathe humans. They're nothing but trouble and pesky two-legged pests who destroy the environment and take us animals to be nothing more than collector's items, an example each being the fire caused by loggers, which also take away our living spaces and food, and smuggling. I hope you're happy now, pesky pets."

Lapis Lazuli then turned and looked at Brisa, Zephyr and Sapphire and said, "I come from the Amazon too."

"You do?" asked Sapphire.

"I'm the niece of the glaucous macaw tribe leader, Reymundo," said Lapis Lazuli, "We also experienced that forest fire. However, I was separated from my tribe by a different thing altogether."

"How were you separated from your tribe?" asked Sapphire. Pluto, Mercury and Venus looked at Lapis Lazuli and listened as she began to shudder and quiver.

"We ran into... trouble with... a large flock of... flying creatures..." Lapis Lazuli shivered as she tried describing a creature.

"Terrifying macaws?" asked Sapphire.

"No," said Lapis Lazuli, "The creatures weren't macaws at all. In fact, they weren't any type of bird."

She then began to shudder violently as though cold as she tried describing the creatures.

"They had fur... featherless wings supported by four long fingers..." said Lapis Lazuli, "...A-a-and terrifying faces, like a wolf. My tribe ran into serious conflict with those creatures and they violently drove us away. I was separated from them and was forced to flee. I had serious nightmares about those creatures, honestly. They're extremely terrifying."

"I bet they were," said Zephyr, "Mom, Dad, Brisa and I were also chased by some of those creatures a few days after we were separated from the Spix macaw tribe by that fire."

"I've never met those creatures at all," said Sapphire.

"What creatures are these?" asked Venus. However, Pluto and Mercury already knew what creatures Lapis Lazuli was trying to describe. There was only one type of creature that could fly but didn't have feathers. Zephyr then stopped crying and glared at Venus.

"I think we've told you three pesky pets enough of our histories," he growled, "Now you know why we despise humans. All of them are environment destroyers and animal thieves."

"I just told you that not all humans are LIKE THAT!" shouted Mercury. Venus and Pluto flinched as he shouted. Zephyr was about to pounce on the male Lear's macaw when he saw the door to the breeding chamber or artificial habitat open. At this, he became curious and took off to investigate. Mercury was also filled with curiosity.

"Looks like we've got an assistant checking on us," he said to Venus and Pluto and with that he took off to follow Zephyr. Lapis Lazuli, Brisa and Sapphire saw him leave with scowls on their faces.

"Since all humans are nothing but destructive pests, why trust them with your wellbeing, anyway," muttered Brisa and with that she turned to take off when she heard the sounds of Zephyr and then Mercury's voices cry in shock. At this, Brisa turned round and rocketed off.

"Zephyr, what is it?" she cried. Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli also followed, leaving only Venus and Pluto. The female Spix and male glaucous macaws were suspicious. Then suddenly, three female macaw cries, first from Brisa's, then Lapis Lazuli's and then Sapphire's were heard. These three squawks startled the two.

"What's going on?" asked Pluto.

"I don't know but it doesn't sound good," said Venus. Then she called for Mercury.

"Mercury, where are you?" she cried and with that she took off to look for him. Pluto was left alone.

"Oh, I don't like this," he said timidly. It was then that Venus's cry of shock was heard.

"Venus?" asked Pluto, "Venus?"

He then began to timidly look around until his eyes landed on a pair of brown eyes under some vegetation. The brown eyes were slitted, as though the owner of them was waiting to jump out and attack. When Pluto saw the pair of eyes, he flinched but then he frowned, unaware that he was about to be attacked.

"Oh, Veggie," he muttered, "What are you doing in here? You know you're not..."

But before he could finished, the owner of the brown eyes leaped out of the shadow and pounced onto him. Pluto let loose a cry of shock as an animal that was the same species of mammal as Veggie pinned him down against the floor with a paw to the head. It was clear that this creature was not Veggie for the creature's fur was white with black patches and not brown, orange and black striped like Veggie's fur. Then before Pluto could protest, the white and black creature grabbed him by the neck with its paws and carried him off back to two humans where he was stuffed into something with the other six macaws including Mercury and Venus.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12- a failed rescue attempt**

A while later, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake were on their way back to Tulio's Aviary from the restaurant. With them were Francisco's wife named Dolores and Francisco and Dolores's two sons named Benny and Miguel. As Francisco drove the jeep down the main road, Drake had a look outside. It was by now dark as the sun had almost completely set.

"Boy, I didn't realise how late it was getting," he said, "We'd better pick up our cat, two cockatoos and greyhound quickly."

"Francisco told us that you have quite a collection of birds," said Delores, "Especially macaws. My favourite is the scarlet macaw for its brilliant red, yellow and blue feathers."

"Really?" said Drake, "Well, my favourite bird has got to be the Major Mitchell's cockatoo. Their crest is stunning when it is completely raised."

"Major Mitchell's cockatoo?" said Delores with a smile, "Francisco and I used to have one named Frankie. Sadly, he passed away from old age. He was a fun bird to play with, he was. What's your Major Mitchell's cockatoo called?"

"Sunset," replied Jake.

"That's a nice name," said Benny.

"Oh, Jake chose that name because her plumage colours resemble the colours of a sunset," said Blake, "Especially the pinkish shade to her feathers and her red, pinkish and yellow crest."

Then Benny placed a hand on his stomach and lipped his lips.

"Well, it's been a real pleasure eating with you guys," he said, "I was getting hungry and was ready for the meal."

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, son," said Francisco. Benny smiled. Then Miguel asked, "So what other pets do you have? I know you'll have already told us but I can't remember."

"Well, we have another cockatoo named Travis but he's a sulfur-crested," said Susan, "We have nine macaws, all each a different species but we thought that we had four hyacinth macaws until Tulio told us that three of them weren't hyacinths at all, and we have a cat and a greyhound."

"What were their names?" asked Miguel.

"Our cat is called Veggie, he's entirely vegetarian sand would not even eat a mouse or fish," said Susan, "Our dog's called Dash, and our macaws are named after planets. Jupiter is a scarlet macaw, Mars is a green-winged macaw, Saturn is a blue-and-gold macaw, Uranus is a Buffon's macaw, Neptune is a hyacinth macaw, Ceres is a blue-throated macaw and Mercury, Venus and Pluto, which we assumed to be hyacinth macaws like Neptune, turned out to be a Lear's, Spix and glaucous macaw respectively."

"Glaucous macaw?" repeated Delores, "Those birds were last seen in the wild in the 1960s, weren't they?"

"They were, yes," said Francisco, "And after that last sighting, the species was declared extinct but when we found that female shortly after we found two more Spix macaws and the Lear's macaw, we were very surprised."

Then Francisco just remembered Pluto and the female macaw (Lapis Lazuli).

"That reminds me," he said, "We'd better check on Pluto, Venus and Mercury and their mates and see if they had had any eggs yet. I hope they'll have mated by now. It would be a real achievement if they had, especially Pluto and the female glaucous macaw since those two are the last known glaucous macaws alive."

"And then what?" asked Lucy.

"Well, we're going to release those birds into the Blu Bird Sanctuary," said Francisco, "When their chicks get old enough, and I feel I must tell you this, Susan and Lucy."

"And what's that?" asked Susan.

"You might have to give up Mercury, Venus and Pluto since they are part of three critically endangered macaw species," said Francisco sadly. Susan and Lucy's faces fell at this comment.

"Sad, I know but I'm afraid it's true, you two," said Francisco, "It's important that we preserve the lives of as many individuals of a critically endangered species as possible, and I can't emphasize how important we have to do with Pluto, Venus and their respective mates, as well as that male macaw's sister, since Venus, the male macaw and his sister are the only other Spix macaws besides Blu, Jewel and their chicks while Pluto and his mate and eventually their chicks are the only glaucous macaws alive."

Susan and Lucy just looked at him when suddenly; Francisco's mobile phone went off. The ringtone went to the tune of 'Dancing on the Ceiling', another song by Lionel Richie and one of Francisco's favourite tracks.

"Oh, no," muttered Francisco as his phone rang and with that, he began to look for somewhere to pull up. After he had managed to find a space and pull the jeep up in that spot, Francisco turned the engine off and took out his ringing phone.

"Did you know that it's illegal in the UK to drive while on a mobile phone?" asked Lucy to Miguel and Benny.

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Benny, "Talking on a cellphone while driving takes much of your concentration of the road, increasing the risk of an accident taking place."

"Hello, Francisco Abilio here," said Francisco on his phone. The caller's voice was loud enough for the other humans with him to hear.

"Francisco, you'd better get back to Tulio's Aviary right now," said the caller. Francisco's face fell as it was filled with dread.

"Why? What's happened?" he asked. As he said this, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake looked at each other as a horrible feeling bloomed within them. Then a few minutes later, Francisco, his wife and two sons, and Susan and company were back at Tulio's Aviary. The place had been turned into a crime scene. There were a few police cars with their blue and red flashing lights on top of their roofs dotting the car park and around Tulio's Aviary and black and yellow plastic banners with the words 'Do Not Cross' in both Brazilian Portuguese and English were stretched around the perimeter of the premises. Other cars besides the police cars were also present as other employees had driven to Tulio's Aviary. Then suddenly, there were the sounds of frustrated shouts.

"Taken!?" shouted a man, "What do you mean they were taken!?"

"But it's true, Tulio," said one of the guards, "All the birds have been stolen from the medical room."

While Tulio, who was accompanied by Linda and Fernando were talking to one of the guards, Susan and Lucy looked on with horrified faces while Blake, Drake and Jake looked for Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset. The guard was in a terrible state. He looked as though he had been dragged through a patch of land filled with thorny plants. His clothes were torn with a few rows of gash-like holes in them, and his face, arms and some of his upper torso were covered in scratches and bruises. A first-aider was treating the guard's wounds while one of the policemen stood by, listening to the guard's explanation.

"How did it happen?" asked Linda. Beside her, Tulio looked horrified and in disbelief at what had happened. Around this group, some of the other employees were asking other policemen and two other guards who were also covered in scratches and tattered clothes, the same questions. The first guard then held up a few hairs.

"We were set upon by a bunch of cats," he explained, "And when we tried to stop them, they attacked and clawed us. Then the next thing we knew, all the birds had been taken."

"Cats!?" asked Linda incredulously "How did they get into the Aviary?"

"I don't know," muttered one of the guards, wincing as the first-aider dabbed one if his injuries with a wet cloth, "But they came upon us by surprise while we were setting up the anti-burglar devices, attacked us and stole all the birds including those that are still recovering from their injuries."

"What!?" snapped Tulio, "But those birds still on the road to recovery might not stand a chance in the hands of whoever has organised this theft."

"Tulio," said Francisco's voice. At this, Tulio, Linda, Fernando and the others with them turned and saw Francisco. Francisco wore a sombre look on his face.

"Did you find the three Spix macaws, the two Lear's macaws and the two glaucous macaws in the breeding chamber, Francisco?" asked Tulio. Francisco looked at him first as Susan and Lucy walked in closer to listen to his answer but they all knew what he was about to say before he even said it.

"They've been stolen too," Francisco managed to say at last, "All seven of those macaws, including both the glaucous macaws."

As these words were absorbed into the group's heads, Tulio began to break down.

"Oh, no," he shouted with his hands buried in his face, "B-b-but those birds are rare and ultra precious, especially the two glaucous macaws and the three Spix macaws!"

As Tulio began to lament on this, Susan and Lucy's eyes were filled with tears. But Venus, Pluto and Mercury were not the only birds they knew had been taken. From what the guard had told Tulio, Linda and Fernando about the other birds in the medical room being stolen too, it could only mean one thing for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Mars as well. However, the news was about to get worse.

"Susan, Lucy," cried Drake. The two sisters turned round and saw their three triplet cousins rush in towards them.

"Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Dash are missing too," said Drake sadly. Susan and Lucy were filled with horror. Then the two began to break down as well.

"What have we done!?" cried Susan, "We should NEVER have left those four pets alone while we left to go to the restaurant."

"Could they have been taken by those thieves as well?" asked Lucy. Blake, Drake and Jake didn't reply but based on the looks on their faces, it seemed likely. Then Francisco appeared. He had heard Drake's mentioning of Veggie, Dash and the cockatoos' disappearance as well.

"Where did you leave them last?" asked Francisco.

"Outside the entrance to Tulio's Aviary," said Blake, "They did opt to stay there while we went to the restaurant with you and we set up two of the cages to provide them with shelter but now they've gone."

"We can't find them anywhere," said Jake. Francisco then began to scratch his head as how Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset had disappeared was confusing to him. Then Tulio, with a scowl on his face, appeared.

"Well, however those four pets have gone," he said seriously, "We've GOT to get those birds back at all costs, especially the seven macaws taken from the breeding chamber. If this is the work of another group of thieves, then we need to track them down and get them arrested."

"I absolutely agree, Tulio," said Francisco. Then he and Tulio looked at Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake as they began to weep.

"We should never have left our other pets here," muttered Susan in a strangled voice. Tulio then left as Linda had called him while Francisco began to comfort the five owners. However, he was still perplexed and in disbelief.

"I just cannot understand how that group of thieves' cats had managed to enter the Aviary and take all the birds," he muttered.

"Cats?" asked Drake confused.

"That's what one of the guards said," said Francisco. But this was a confusing question. Why would a group of thieves enlist the help of cats to take the birds from the Aviary? However, the answer would have to wait. Getting the birds, especially Venus, Pluto, Mercury, and the other four macaws named Brisa, Zephyr, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire back was more important.

While all this was happening at Tulio's Aviary, Mercury began to come to. He groaned as his world merged into visibility.

"Mercury," cried Venus's voice in an echo, "Are you alright?"

Mercury groaned again and raised a wing to his head. Then as soon as his vision cleared, he was staring into the amber eyes of Venus and the sandy brown eyes of Pluto. At this, Mercury jolted up.

"Wh-where are we?" he asked.

"Where do you think we are birdbrain?" snarled Zephyr's voice. At this, Mercury turned and looked at Zephyr who was with Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire as they looked around their surroundings with scowls on their faces. The seven birds were in some sort of device. Vertical silvery bars were arranged in a square around the seven birds and the floor and ceiling were solid slabs of metal. One barred side had a door of some sort, locked in place by a strip of silver shaped like an 'L'. Pluto looked at it when he noticed that the surroundings were noisy, filled with the sounds of mournful squawking and chirping. This indicated that there were other birds with them, also in the same devices as the seven macaws. Venus then began to look around when she heard a familiar voice call her name.

"Venus!" it cried, "Venus!"

At this, Venus traced the sound and found its source.

"Jupiter?" she asked. She managed to find the familiar burly vermillion form with brown eyes through the adjacent device called a cage. The next cage had parakeets in them but in the cage next to them, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Mars were present. Venus struggled to see them.

"What's going on?" she asked. She then saw a familiar large navy blue form in a cage next to Jupiter and company's. The navy blue form was groaning and muttering about restricted space.

"Neptune?" asked Venus. The navy blue form was Neptune alright. However, he looked seriously cramped in his cage. It was obvious that the cage he was in was too small for him, and he was finding movement within it almost impossible.

"How could these pests do this to me?" snarled Neptune angrily, "How could they force me into this tiny cage?"

"How do you think WE feel?" shouted a female voice from the cage above him. That sounded like the female scarlet macaw, the same one that gave Jupiter a hiss and a scowl when he first saw her. Venus, Mercury and Pluto looked up and saw that the female scarlet macaw was stuffed into another cage with the tiny green-winged macaw and the female blue-and-gold macaw.

"We can't move at all," shouted the female blue-and-gold macaw, "We're completely jammed in here."

Suddenly, Sapphire's eyes widened in shock.

"Orquidea, is that you?" she asked. And with that, she looked for the blue-and-gold macaw until her eyes landed on the one that just spoke. The female blue-and-gold macaw looked stuffed in the cage with the female scarlet and small green-winged macaws and could not move at all but when she

Saw Sapphire, her eyes widened in shock.

"Sapphire!?" she cried. Mercury reacted in surprise at this.

"You know that blue-and-gold macaw?" he asked.

"It's none of your business, pet," snapped Sapphire obnoxiously much to Mercury's appalled chagrin. Sapphire turned to the female blue-and-gold macaw and said, "I didn't know you've managed to survive that fire that tore through the jungle when we were young. How..."

"It's a long story," muttered the blue-and-gold macaw uncomfortably. Then the small green-winged macaw caught sighted Zephyr and Brisa but instead of a surprised reaction, it was one of utter dislike and distaste.

"Well if it isn't Zephyr and his bratty sister Brisa," she snarled, "I thought your tribe would have perished in that fire that ripped through the jungle."

Zephyr and Brisa's feathers spiked out when they looked at the green-winged macaw.

"Bratty!?" snapped Brisa, "Who are you calling bratty, Chiquitita? I think if there is any macaw that's a brat; it's YOU and your pesky friend Ruby there!"

The macaw, whom Venus, Mercury and Pluto presumed was called Chiquitita, shook her head in shock and offense.

"How DARE you," she retorted, "When I get out of this cage I'm gonna rip your feathers out!"

"Let me join in, Chiquitita," said the female scarlet macaw angrily. Nearby, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Mars flinched at the hostility between Zephyr, Brisa and the scarlet macaw presumably named Ruby and the small green-winged macaw. Neptune, however, was too cramped to even care. Then another voice said, "Ruby? Chiquitita? Orquidea? Is that you?"

"Esmeralda?" asked Ruby, the female scarlet macaw, "Where are you?"

"We're behind that hyacinth macaw," moaned 'Esmeralda's' voice. Then two more groans were heard. Ruby, however, was too stuffed in her cage to move.

"I-I can't move to see you, Esmeralda," she said, "I've been stuffed into this thing with Chiquitita and Orquidea."

As Ruby mentioned Esmeralda, Sapphire's feathers bristled.

"Sounds like that wretched great green macaw's also survived the fire," she snarled, "If I ever see her, I'll..."

"Do you think this is the right time to be challenging other birds to a fight?" asked Venus. Sapphire shot her a glare. Then Ceres's voice sounded.

"Jupiter, Mars, guys, where are you?" she cried. Venus then began to look around but could not find Ceres. She must be buried somewhere in a cage of her own under other caged birds. Then Mercury scowled.

"These thieves definitely don't seem to care about us, folks," he muttered, "Based on how Neptune and some other birds are stuffed in their cages, they don't seem to care about us at all."

"That's exactly what I mean, pesky pet," snarled Lapis Lazuli. Then Mercury turned and saw the look on Ruby's face. It was now replaced by a look of fear.

"That scarlet macaw looks very scared," he said. Then he heard the female blue-and-gold macaw, who he presumed was named Orquidea, call, "Cobalto, Ultramarine, can you see anything?"

"We can't, Orquidea, our movement is restricted," replied Cobalto's voice, "Ouch, my wing!"

Mercury flinched as the voice then groaned in pain. Jupiter then rolled his eyes and tired to look for a hole in the cloak covering the cages. When he couldn't find any, he began to peer down through the bars of the cage and down the side of some sort of container the caged birds were in.

"Can you see anything Jupiter?" asked Saturn. Jupiter then retracted his head into the cage and sat down, having given up.

"I can't see anything," he muttered, but then a look of dread crept into his face, "But based on where we're going, it isn't good at all. Our owners are seriously going to be worried when they find us gone."

Suddenly, he heard Ruby's voice shout, "What, are you a PET!?"

Jupiter flinched and looked up at the female scarlet macaw named Ruby who eyed him with a scowl on her face. However, he did not reply, much to Ruby's distasteful reaction. Then Mars began to boil with anger.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to give our kidnappers a piece of my mind," he snarled. Uranus shot him a glare.

"Mars, that would NOT be a good idea," he said, "What if our thieves are powerful?"

However, the sometimes hot-headed green-winged macaw looked at him without much of a care about this statement. Mars did not tolerate cruel humans and sometimes wanted to jump at them and scratch them.

Outside the cloak covering the caged birds and their kidnappers, Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset continued following the large object at a safe distance. They had seen the cloaked group leave Tulio's Aviary and had been following them.

"I've managed to get a glimpse of some of the animals under that cloak, you three," said Sunset in a low voice, "And they're definitely cats. Also I saw a pair of feet which indicated two humans."

"They've definitely stolen some birds from Tulio's Aviary, I can hear some bird squawking," said Veggie, "But I've a horrible feeling that Jupiter and some of the others including Venus, Pluto and Mercury or what's worse, all NINE of them are among them."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Venus, Mercury, Pluto and those four other macaws in the breeding chamber are among them," said Dash, "They're rare macaws after all and they're often sought after by animal thieves and smugglers."

"Smugglers?" repeated Travis. Then his look turned dark.

"Don't tell me that the cloaked group are a second group of smugglers, are they?" he said.

"I don't know but we'll soon find out," said Dash. Then the four pets continued following the cloaked group. The cloaked group had entered what was known as the slums of Rio. The surrounding buildings appeared very basic and there were many people walking up and down the streets dressed in basic clothes. A number of the buildings looked like they were in disrepair for some of them had cracks in their sides and a few broken windows. There were also a number of trash cans dotting the paths and entrances to alleyways and the paths and alleys themselves didn't look very tidy. Poverty was clear in this part of the Brazilian city. Veggie quivered slightly as he looked around at where they were.

"I don't like this place, folks," he murmured timidly, "I've heard that places like this are sometimes fraught with danger lurking around every corner."

"Look, let's just stay focussed on that cloaked group, Veggie," said Dash, "We've got some friends and birds to rescue."

Veggie did so and continued following the cloaked group with Dash, Travis and Sunset. The two cockatoos also looked uneasy in this place. Their crests were partially raised and they feared that something was going to jump out at the quartet any moment. Furthermore, it being dark didn't help at all. As the quartet continued following the cloaked group, they saw it stop in front of one of the buildings. This building was large compared to the rest of the buildings surrounding it. The glass of the windows was broken and there were large holes in them. Dash, Veggie, Travis and Sunset stopped and hid behind a trash can while the cloaked group stood still. Then after a while, the cloaked group disappeared into the building through a door. After the entire group had entered the building, the cloak was removed and taken in by someone and the door was closed. Dash, Veggie, Travis and Sunset then quickly crept towards the building and towards one of the broken windows. There they peered into the building but making sure to stay out of sight as well.

Inside the building, the cloaked group, which were two humans (a boy and a girl) and a number of cats, approached another human, an adult man, at a table with their captured and caged birds. They were surrounded by more cats and three more humans, two men and a woman. Both men had a chubby build but the woman was slender. One of the men had black hair while the other had reddish hair. The woman, however, had frizzy brown hair and all three had tan coloured skin. The man at the desk had black hair and was slimmer than the other two men and like the other three adults his skin was tan in colour. The boy and girl both had orangish hair and also tanned skin. Due to their age, they were shorter than the four adults. The man at the desk then turned round and smiled at the boy and the girl as they presented their caught birds in a large container on a single wheel (called a wheelbarrow) before him.

"Well, looks like our two youngest members have successfully managed to catch a load of birds with some of our cats," he said with a wide grin on his face, "Congratulations, Jack and Jill."

The boy and the girl, whose names were Jack and Jill, looked at the man with saddened looks on their faces. They did not look very happy at all. Around their feet, the cats that had participated in the robbery at Tulio's Aviary including a black and white cat with brown eyes received congratulations from their comrades, among them a fierce looking dark grey cat. The participants gladly accepted their comrades' praise. However, not all of the cat participants were happy. One of them, a female white calico cat with black and ginger patches dotting her body looked very downcast. The dark grey cat looked at the calico with confused eyes.

"Why are you so downcast, Catina?" it asked, "You should be proud of yourself in helping to catch so many birds."

The calico didn't reply and maintained her sad face. The grey cat rolled his eyes in annoyance and then left to join the man at the desk. The man stood up and walked over to Jack and Jill and smiled at the hoard of caged birds they had managed to catch and bring back while the two chubby men and slim woman unloaded them and placed them onto the table and floor with the help of the cats. From the broken window, Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Dash watched. When Sunset saw a familiar hyacinth macaw, she said in a hushed voice, "It's Neptune."

But when she saw how poor Neptune was stuffed into such a small cage, she was filled with horror. Travis, Dash and Veggie were also horrified.

"Looks like Neptune isn't the only bird to be forced into such a tiny cage," said Veggie in a low voice, "Some of the other birds are as well. Look at how those scarlet, green-winged and blue-and-gold macaws are jam-packed into that cage as well."

"Those humans and their cats are definitely up to no good," said Dash with a frown. Then a thought came to him.

"We're going to have to bust those birds out of there, but how?" he said. Travis then left to see if he could find an entrance while the other three continued watching the activities of the thieves inside as they continued unloading the caged birds. Back inside the room, the slender man, who was apparently the leader of the group, was smiling at the variety of birds caught from Tulio's Aviary. Around him Jack, Jill, the two chubby men and the woman continued unloading the cages from the wheelbarrow and placing them around the room on the floor and table.

"You really have done a good job indeed, Jack and Jill," said the slim man, "You've managed to steal a wide variety of birds. It's not very common that we manage to capture a wide selection at all."

He then looked closely at the birds, which were macaws, toucans, parakeets and the small birds like honeycreepers, in their cages with a wide grin full of glee on his face. The birds, however, were not at all impressed. Some were angry, some were frightened and some were upset. Jupiter glared fiercely at the slim man as he looked from him, Uranus, Mars and Saturn to Neptune who was stuffed into a cage too small for him. In a cage placed next to Jupiter and the other three with him, Ceres, with a furious look on her face, watched the humans and the cats as they unloaded the last of the captured birds. When she watched the man smile at Neptune and then move on to look at the next cage, she was filled with anger.

"Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake would NEVER stuff Neptune into a cage as small as that," she snarled.

"Hey, stop talking, parrot," said a voice. Then a paw slammed against Ceres' cage, making the blue-throated macaw jump. Ceres then found herself staring at two irritated pairs of eyes belonging to two of the cats. Then the two cats moved on, leaving Ceres to let loose an irritated sigh. As the slim man continued admiring the selection of birds caught, one of the three adults said, "Frank, look at this!"

At this, the slim man, named Frank, looked up and faced the woman. The woman was holding a cage containing Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire, Zephyr and Brisa.

"You will not believe what Jack and Jill have also caught," said the woman.

"What is it, Vera?" asked Franks and with that he began to walk towards her. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Mars and Ceres's eyes widened in horror when they saw the seven macaws while Neptune just looked at them, too uncomfortable to make a face. As Frank shoved his nose up to the bars, Mercury, Venus and Pluto, filled with fear, backed away while Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire looked on with furious eyes and puffed out feathers.

"Wow," said Frank in amazement, "Three Spix macaws, two Lear's macaws and... two glaucous macaws including the female found by that Tulio guy and his team!"

Suddenly, Zephyr lashed at Frank and hissed loudly into his face, making Frank jump back.

"Good grief," gasped Frank in shock, "Some of those birds sure are feisty. However, we must preserve those birds for they are extremely rare. Put them down on the table, Vera."

Vera did so and took the cage containing the seven macaws to the table and placed them next to Ceres. Ceres looked at Mercury, Venus and Pluto and then at Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire.

"Those wretched thieves are not gonna hesitate to sell you as soon as possible, you seven," she muttered in a low voice. Mercury just looked at her and said nothing. Then Sapphire looked at Ceres closely.

"Who's that blue-throated macaw?" she asked, "One of Cobalto's friends?"

"Who?" asked Ceres. However, the conversation was cut short when the macaws found a few cats staring at them as if to say 'shut up, birds!'. At this, they stopped talking, much to Ceres's frustration and Sapphire's anger. Then one of the chubby men said, "Frank, I've heard that there are another five Spix macaws living on the sanctuary too. What shall we do with them?"

"We'll have to wait and see about that, Marvin," said Frank, "Now why don't you, Vera and Luke prepare to help us to transfer these birds into the other room with the others?"

The man named Marvin nodded and left through a door into another room, Vera and the other man named Luke not far behind.

"Frank," said Jack.

"What, Jack?" muttered Frank. Jack was looking at the state of Neptune and how he was stuffed into the cage.

"Do you think we should transfer this hyacinth macaw into a larger cage?" asked Jack, "This cage is too small for him."

"Look, Jack, just leave that bird," snapped Frank annoyed, "And just let's prepare to take these birds through to the other room. We don't have time for arguments."

Jack looked at him and then at Neptune before reluctantly obeying the command, leaving Neptune to gaze after him in anger. Mars seethed as he watched the boy continue to look at the other captured birds in anger.

"I'm going to claw that lad across the face and bite him real good," he snarled, his red feathers raised, "when I get out of this cage! How dare he leave Neptune in that state?"

"Mars, please," said Saturn, wary of some of the cats looking at the group with glares. Mars let loose an irritated sigh and cooled down.

"God didn't intend us animals to be treated with cruelty, you know," he growled under his breath, "These humans don't seem to care about us at all."

The calico cat also looked up at Neptune sympathetically before joining the other cats to prepare to move the birds into the other room. Then the six humans Frank, Jack, Jill, Marvin, Luke and Vera continued checking the other caged birds with their cats. However, they were unaware that they were being watched. Travis had managed to find a large hole in the wall that was big enough for Dash to enter the room and had called Veggie, Dash and Sunset over. Travis watched the group of thieves as they prepared to move the birds into the other room and made carefully sure that none of them had seen the quartet. He then turned his eyes from the group to the caged birds, including Jupiter and the others with them on the table.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do..." began Travis.

"Let me launch the first attack," said Dash determined, "I'll cause the distraction while you three free the birds."

"But Dash, you'd get hurt," said Sunset, "There are dozens of cats in there and if they overwhelm you..."

"No time to argue, Sunset," said Dash and with that, he got into position and prepared to leap out upon the group of thieves. While the others prepared to pick up the first cages, Vera continued looking at Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire, Zephyr and Brisa, but especially Pluto and Lapis Lazuli.

"I think those two glaucous macaws are definitely the last of their species, Frank," she said, "Since the glaucous macaw is believed to be extinct in the wild, I think these two should have an enormous price tag on them."

Pluto looked at the woman timidly while Lapis Lazuli scowled.

"Let's find a chain to chain those two together, then," said Frank as he moved a cage full of honeycreepers to the other side of the room, "We cannot afford to lose either of those two precious macaws."

As he said this, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were filled with horror, as were the others with them as Vera then began to look for a chain.

"What did that human mean 'chain those two together'?" asked Ceres to Jupiter. However, she knew that it was a stupid question. Whatever Frank meant was about to reveal itself shortly. However, while the thieves continued sorting through the captured birds, Dash continued to wait for the right moment to strike while Veggie, Sunset and Travis prepared to make their move as soon as Dash had made his. Then one of the men, Luke said, "Here you go, Vera, I've found one."

He lifted up a silvery device that had a ring of metal on each of its ends.

"Oh, brilliant, Luke," said Vera with a smile. Then the two humans walked over to the cage containing Mercury and the other six. Dash watched the two humans closely and chose this as the moment to strike. As Vera and Luke approached the cage, Venus, Pluto and Mercury backed away while Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire spread their wings and made scowls on their faces as they took up threat positions. When Vera saw the positions of Pluto and Lapis Lazuli in the cage, she said, "Now how are we going to chain those two glaucous macaws together if they're in a position like that? Not to mention the other five birds in the way."

"Then let's enlist the help of our cats," said Luke and with that, he called some cats over. Some cats, including the white and black brown-eyed one, jumped onto the table.

"Otis, can you and your group help us restrain the three Spix and two Lear's macaws while we chain the two glaucous together please?" ordered Luke. Otis and his friends nodded in obedience and took up their positions. Two of the cats held Venus and Mercury by the necks against the bars while a third pushed Pluto forward so that he was within reach of Vera and Luke. Pluto tried to back away against the bars but the cat prevented him from doing so and shoved him back into the centre of the cage. Then more cats tried grabbing Brisa, Sapphire and Zephyr but the three macaws weren't having any of it and retaliated by biting their paws, making them retract their paws in an instant from the sharp pain.

"Look, just grab those macaws and restrain them," commanded Luke. The cats did so but received another bite from Brisa, Zephyr and Sapphire. Then Luke rolled his eyes and decided to try and chain Lapis Lazuli to Pluto himself. However, he and the others with him were in for a shock. The moment Luke opened the cage door; Dash took this as the right moment to strike.

With a loud bark, he jumped into the air and landed onto Luke! Luke cried in shock as Dash then began to bark and bite him. Vera and the cats with her also cried in shock when they saw the greyhound began to attack Luke. Frank, Marvin, Jack and Jill and the other cats also whirled round upon hearing the sound.

"What the-!?" shouted Frank in shock. Then Dash began to send Luke toppling in Marvin's direction and crash into Marvin. Many cats managed to flee as the two men crashed into as heap on the ground. Then soon, the whole room erupted into chaos as Dash began to attack the six thieves. The caged birds looked on with terrified eyes as the six humans then began shouting and attempt to grab the greyhound but Dash dodged their attempts. Cats also leaped in to try and stop Dash but the greyhound also dodged them too. Some of the birds, however, recognised the greyhound.

"Dash!?" shouted Jupiter in shock. Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Ceres, Uranus, Mars, Saturn and Neptune also looked on in shock as Dash began to bite Frank, Marvin, Vera and Luke, making them shout and utter foul words. Jack and Jill, however, managed to escape the chaos and hide in a corner. The calico also managed to flee the inferno and hide with the boy and the girl. While Dash caused the thieves trouble, Veggie, Travis and Sunset quickly entered the room through the hole. They made a beeline for the cages nearest to the hole and began to unlock them. When the birds saw Veggie, they backed away but Veggie said, "Don't worry, I'm here to rescue you."

And with that, he unlocked the cage holding three toucans. As soon as he had done this, Veggie said, "Right, fly like the wind out of here. There's a broken window with a big enough hole for you to fly through over there!"

He indicated with a paw. The toucans, without hesitation, flew off and made a beeline for the broken window, where they escaped. Veggie then opened the cage door containing a couple of parakeets and they made their escape too. While Veggie freed the birds on the ground, Sunset and Travis unlocked the cage doors locking Ceres and Neptune in their cages. Ceres managed to escape but Neptune struggled out.

"Boy, I'm glad to be out of that tiny cage," said the hyacinth macaw in relief. Suddenly, a group of felines jumped upon the group. Taken by surprise, Sunset and Travis began fighting the cats while more restrained Neptune and Ceres. The other birds in the cage nearby watched in horror when Mercury saw that Luke and Vera had left the door to the cage he and the other six macaws with him were in. without hesitation, Mercury made a break for it, followed by Venus, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire and then Brisa and Zephyr. The seven macaws then began to fly around the room looking for a way out while Frank, Vera, Marvin and Luke continued struggling with Dash. Back on the ground, Veggie managed to set free a group of honeycreepers but before he could set free the next group of birds, a couple of green-winged macaws (not Mars or Chiquitita, the small green-winged macaw), a white, black and ginger blur tackled him and knocked him back. Veggie, at first, shook his head stunned before the same blur attacked him again. This made Veggie snap, so he began to fight back at his attacker, which was the female calico cat and within seconds, the tabby and the calico began to engage in a vicious catfight. Back in the air, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Zephyr, Sapphire and Brisa continued flying around looking for a way out, trying to stay out of the chaos occurring between Dash and the thieves below. From the table, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Mars looked up in horror.

"Mercury, Venus, Pluto," cried Jupiter. Then Sunset managed to set free Ruby, Chiquitita and Orquidea and they joined in the chaos before a cat pounced onto her and restrained her. Next, Frank's voice erupted through the chaos of shouts and cat screeches when he saw Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire, Zephyr and Brisa frantically fly around the room.

"The (bleep)in' blue macaws have escaped," he cried, "After them before they find a way out of this room!"

And with that, hands and cat paws stopped attempting to catch Dash and started attempting to grab the seven macaws by lashing and swiping their hands and paws at them but the seven macaws dodged them. Dash then tried to make things more difficult for the thieves but Frank managed to wrap his arms around his torso and struggle with him. Dash growled viciously and tried biting but Frank clasped his hands over his mouth to stop him from biting him. Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire, Zephyr and Brisa continued flying frantically around avoiding every cat paw and human hand that came their way. Those human hands or cat paws either missed or struck another unintended target, whether other cats or someone else. Marvin's hands kept hitting either Vera or Luke while the cat sometimes struck each other. Ruby, Chiquitita and Orquidea had attempted to fly into the air to escape but they had been restrained by some cats. Then after a few more minutes of chaos, the seven blue macaws finally began to be caught. The first to be captured was Pluto. Vera had managed to grab him in midair with her hands and restrain him. Pluto struggled but the woman kept a firm grip on him. Then Venus and Sapphire were captured by some of the cats, followed by Mercury, who was caught by an all-black cat and pinned down to the floor on his back. However, Zephyr, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli continued flying around. Marvin tried waving his hands at the three but they dodged and he ended up hitting Luke in the face instead.

"Oh, you clumsy imbecile," snarled Luke and with that, he hit Marvin back with a hit on the head with a fist.

"STOP THOSE MACAWS, NOW!" shouted Frank as he continued restraining Dash. Some more cats then attempted to catch Zephyr, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli but they also dodged their attempts too. Then Lapis Lazuli turned and saw the broken window and took off for it, followed by Zephyr and Brisa. However, before they could successfully escape to freedom, a dark grey blur shot in and knocked each macaw out of the air. Lapis Lazuli screeched in pain and grasped her wing before a cat pounced onto her and restrained her, while Brisa was sent flying into a wall nearby. She fell to the floor, stunned. Zephyr, however, was caught and pinned down with a paw to the throat.

"Zephyr," cried Venus as she struggled in the paws of two cats. Zephyr then looked around and found himself gazing into a pair of sadistic brown eyes.

"Where do you think you're going you little feathered gemstone?" said the grey cat evilly. Zephyr only replied with a timid gasp but found it hard to breathe with the cat's paw on his neck.

"Whassup, bird?" continued the cat in a taunting way, "Freedom just snatched out of your grasp by a cat's paw? Well, I'm afraid that's true 'cos you ain't goin' anywhere... except out of Brazil in a cage."

"Brutus," commanded Frank, "Can you bring that macaw back to the cage before you even think about harming it?"

The cat, named Brutus, looked at Frank and then back at Zephyr.

"Or should I say, 'you're returnin' to your cage' first?" said Brutus and with that, he picked Zephyr up by the neck, dragged him back to the table and tossed him into the cage. Seconds later, Venus was thrown in, followed by Brisa, Mercury and then Sapphire. As Sapphire was thrown into the cage, the chaos in the room subsided. The humans apart from Jack and Jill were in a right state. They were covered in bite and scratch marks from Dash, but they were unfazed by the pain from their wounds for they were glad that they had managed to calm everything down. Vera was about to toss Pluto back into the cage with the Spix and Lear's macaws when Frank stopped her.

"Wait, we still need to chain those two glaucous macaws together," said Frank, "Where's the female glaucous?"

The group looked around until they saw two cats hold Lapis Lazuli up. Lapis Lazuli was in a lot of pain and was grasping her wing. A small red blob had formed on her feathers as she grasped her right wing. She must have been scratched during the skirmish. However, Frank, Luke, Marvin and Vera did not care about this and Marvin picked up Lapis Lazuli and held her close to Pluto held by Vera. Pluto looked at Lapis Lazuli in horror when he saw that she had been scratched. Then Luke raised the chain with the two rings on either end and attached one of the rings to Lapis Lazuli's right leg and the other to Pluto's left leg. Pluto squirmed in Vera's tight grip but Vera refused to loosen it. then as soon as Luke had attached the chain to the two glaucous macaws' legs, Marvin and Vera shoved them back into the cage with the two Lear's and three Spix macaws and closed the door. When Pluto saw that he had been chained to Lapis Lazuli, he closed his beak on the silver thing and began to pull it off his ankle but to no avail. Lapis Lazuli, however, continued to hold her wing in pain to notice that she had been chained to Pluto. Mercury saw the chain in horror while Venus, Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire sorted themselves out. Brisa had just come round while Neptune, Ceres, Ruby, Chiquitita and Orquidea had been stuffed back into their cages. Frank then saw that the cats had restrained Veggie, Sunset and Travis with the calico restraining Veggie with a paw to the head against the floor.

"Well done, my cats," said Frank as he held Dash tight, "You've managed to capture the other pests. Now let's cage these four and we'll deal with them later."

And with that, he nodded to Marvin and Luke who took out more cages and within moments, Sunset and Travis were shoved into one cage, Veggie in another and Dash in a third. When Luke placed Veggie next to Mercury, Venus and the other five macaws' cage, Lapis Lazuli, Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire backed away in fear. Mercury and Venus, however, looked at Veggie with an angry scowl.

"You could have been killed, Veggie, didn't you know that?" growled Venus.

"We were only trying to rescue you," snapped Veggie. When Zephyr, Sapphire, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli saw Venus and Mercury interact with Veggie, they were filled in utter horror and appal.

"You're FRIENDS with that CAT!?" shouted Zephyr.

"Look, we can explain," said Venus. Then Brisa boiled with fury.

"We HATE you, you rotten PETS," shouted Brisa and with that, she span in disgust right in front of Venus much to her revulsion. Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Ceres and Neptune also eyed Veggie, Travis and Sunset with angry eyes.

"Now look what you have got yourselves into, you foolish cockatoos and cat," shouted Jupiter, "You should have stayed back at Tulio's Aviary!"

Veggie, Travis and Sunset looked at the scarlet macaw but said nothing. Then Veggie said, "You'd better take a look at what those rotten humans have done to Pluto and the female glaucous macaw."

At this, Jupiter took one look at the chain attached to Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's legs. His beak dropped open in appal and shock. Then a look of thunder appeared on his face and his feathers bristled. It was a stormy expression, like the storms on his namesake planet.

"I'm gonna claw those humans' faces in when we get out of here," he snarled.

"Leave that to me," said Mars.

"Jupiter, Mars, please," said Uranus. At this, Jupiter and Mars calmed down but Jupiter was still furious and simmered in silence. Then Frank congratulated his group, especially Brutus for stopping Zephyr, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli from escaping and said, "Right, let's take this lot to the other room."

And with that, Marvin, Vera, Jack, Jill, Luke and the cats began to carry the cages to the other room. Jack carried Mercury and the other six while Jill carried Jupiter, Uranus, Mars and Saturn. As the group entered the room, loud mournful squawking filled the macaws' ears. At this, Jupiter and the others looked around with eyes widened in horror at the other birds the group of humans and their cats had caught earlier. A lot of them were kept in appalling conditions such as being stuffed into a cage too small for them like how Neptune was but the looks on their faces and behaviour suggested one thing in common: they were all mournful, terrified and in despair. Jupiter and company had never seen such depressed looks on any animal at all but it was distressing to look at. Behind Jill, Vera carried Neptune while Marvin carried Ceres. Then as soon as Jack and Jill had found a spot to put the cages, they placed the caged macaws into that spot.

"Sorry, you lot," said Jack sadly to Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Zephyr, Brisa, Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli, "But there's not much I can do."

The seven macaws only looked back at him with either scowls or sad faces. Jack then left to fetch another cage as Jill placed Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn and Mars next to them before leaving to get another cage. Soon, the batch of captured birds was all brought a few at a time into the storage room until all were in the room. Dash, Veggie, Travis and Sunset were also placed in the room by the door. Then as soon as the job was done, the humans and their cats left the room but not before Jack, Jill and the calico cat looked back at the macaws one last time before shutting the door.

"So, what are we going to do to those birds?" asked Jack to Frank, "I'm seriously concerned for them, especially for the two hyacinth macaws. Those cages aren't big enough for them at all."

"Also, what about those birds with the injuries they still have?" asked Jill. Frank made an annoyed facial expression.

"Look, you two," he growled, "Let's just focus on getting rich, shall we? Earning some good money is more important than those birds. Now come on. Let's get something to eat and prepare for bed. We have a very busy day in the morning."

Jack and Jill sighed and followed Frank into the living room. The calico cat, which was covered in scratches and bruises after fighting Veggie, also had the same facial expression about the macaws and the other birds.

"Catina," said Brutus, "Come on, our owners are going to prepare our dinner any moment."

The calico named Catina sighed and followed Brutus to the other room.

"I'm with Jack and Jill, Brutus," said Catina, "Those birds look in a lot of distress."

"Look, just leave them," said Brutus, "And do what Frank says."

Catina sighed and followed Brutus into the living room to prepare for dinner.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13- escape from the smugglers' den**

A while later, the group of thieves had just had their dinner. Jack, Jill and Catina had decided to go to bed early for they did not feel like staying up any longer. As the three passed through the room where the chaos caused by Dash had took place, Jack noticed a few feathers on the floor, a few of which were teal-tinted turquoise, dark navy blue and maya blue. At this, Jack knelt down and picked up the feathers. They must have been shed by Venus, Mercury and Pluto during the skirmish earlier. As they gazed at the feathers, Jack and Jill sighed and left for the upstairs room. Catina followed. Back in the living room, Vera, Marvin and Luke and many of the cats were preparing to watch a movie.

"Come one, everyone, the film's about to start," cried Marvin excitedly. Vera and Luke came in with a tub of popcorn each and Marvin had one of his own. Brutus and his gang of cats also joined the group and sat around the sofa. While the group prepared to watch the film, Frank was talking on his mobile phone to a dealer in the kitchen.

"Yes, I do have the three Spix macaws, the two Lear's macaws and the two glaucous macaws, sir," he said, "But one of my accomplices has also told me that there is a family of five Spix macaws living on the sanctuary too. Do you want us to catch that family too?"

Then after the dealer had replied to the question, Frank said, "Alright then. We'll see to that tomorrow morning. We'll ring you some other time and provide you with updates. Hopefully, we'll successfully deliver you the valuable macaws including the last pair of glaucous macaws, both of which we already have in our possession. See you."

And with that, he hung up and left for the living room.

"Folks," he said. Vera, Luke, Martin and the cats turned to him.

"Tomorrow morning, we take those caged birds in the storage room and put them on the plane," said Frank, "But the dealer also wants us to catch the Spix macaw family tomorrow as well, so we'll have to think about how we're going to do that."

"But Frank," said Vera, "That Spix macaw family could be anywhere on the sanctuary. It could take ages to find them and then capture them. Trying to search hundreds and hundreds of acres of jungle for the family would take an awful long time."

"That's why we're going to come up with an ingenious plan to catch them, Vera," replied Frank. Then he yawned.

"Anyway, I'm off to bed, and I hope you lot enjoy your film but don't be up too late," said Frank, "We have a very busy day tomorrow."

And with that, he left the room after saying goodnight.

"Goodnight, Frank," said Vera, Marvin and Luke together but Frank had already gone. Then they returned their eyes to the TV. Brutus smiled wickedly at the thought of the amount of money the group was going to make when they sell the birds after smuggling them out of Brazil, especially from the Spix, the Lear's and the glaucous macaws. However tonight had been rather difficult and exhausting, especially from the chaos caused by Dash and having to catch the seven valuable macaws, so Brutus refocused on the film as it opened.

Back in the storeroom, the caged birds continued chirping and squeaking mournfully. Some of the birds were especially upset or angry. Jupiter, who was in the same cage as Uranus, Saturn and Mars, was looking around for a way out. With him were Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire, Zephyr and Brisa in another cage, Ceres in a third cage, Neptune stuffed into a fourth, and Ruby, Chiquitita and Orquidea in yet another cage. Nearby them were the female great green macaw, the female hyacinth macaw and the male blue-throated macaw in two more cages. The hyacinth macaw was in one cage and like Neptune was stuffed in it, and the great green and blue-throated macaws were in the other cage. The female great green macaw was slim, slimmer than Uranus and like every other great green; she had leafy green feathers with blue on her wings, tail and lower back, red on the forehead and tail and yellow on the wing and tail undersides. However, her blue parts were azure. Her beak and feet were a dark grey and her head feathers were a flat sheet of wavy feathers sticking out to the back. Her eyes were a shade of emerald green and she had some white skin surrounding her face.

The female hyacinth macaw looked like Neptune and like every other hyacinth almost, she had navy blue feathers and a large stature, black beak and feet and yellow facial features. She had a stocky build, violet eyes and a small feather ruffle at the base of her head. The male blue-throated macaw also had a stocky build. Like every other blue-throated macaw, his back parts and throat were blue and his front parts were yellow and he lacked the green forehead, a feature only the blue-and-gold macaw had. His back parts and bib-like mark, however, were a very dark shade of blue, actually cobalt blue, while his front parts were a rich yellow-orange. His crest was a few feathers at the base of his head that flicked backward and his eyes were a shade of midnight blue. He also had a thin ring of skin around each eye and his beak and feet were dark grey. The male blue-throated macaw and female great green macaw looked battered and were covered in a few scratches. They must have received these scratches when they tried escaping from the cats during the robbery at Tulio's Aviary, and the male blue-throated macaw was particularly holding his bandaged wing. The scarlet macaw named Ruby looked at him sympathetically.

"Are you alright, Cobalto?" she asked. The male blue-throated macaw looked at her with a pained face.

"My sprained wing's just a bit painful," he murmured, "It didn't help to be just caught and then tossed into a cage forcefully."

"Tell me about it," muttered the great green macaw. She looked like she had a bit of an injured wing as well, "those cats weren't half rough with us. They also actually sprained my wing as well as they stuffed me into one of the cages."

"Is it broken, Esmeralda?" asked Ruby.

"No, thank goodness," said Esmeralda the great green macaw. She then began to feel where her flight muscles were and flinched harshly when shooting pain rushed from the spot that hurt the most. Esmeralda then slumped down to the floor and sighed. Ruby then turned and made a mortified face when she saw how the female hyacinth macaw was stuffed into the small cage.

"I feel sorry for Ultramarine over there," she said.

"How could those rotten humans do such a thing to such large macaws as her?" snarled Chiquitita in a rage. The hyacinth macaw named Ultramarine just looked at Ruby and Chiquitita with a pained expression, obviously in too much discomfort and pain to speak.

"She's not the only one... to be stuffed into such a small cage with confined space," growled another hyacinth macaw. At this, Ruby, Chiquitita and Orquidea turned and looked at Neptune who was also packed into a tiny cage.

"I can hardly move at all," muttered Neptune. He was also clearly in pain and must have been handled roughly by the cats. A stormy look then returned to Jupiter's face.

"This is something I will not tolerate," he snarled, "Especially if those humans are going to stuff birds into cages too small for them, let their cats injure them or chain macaws together!"

He then glared at the chain holding Pluto and Lapis Lazuli together. Lapis Lazuli was especially disgusted at the sight of the human thing. She was a wild macaw and she hated everything manmade. Pluto was also equally disgusted and couldn't believe that human cruelty could reach to such extremes as this, especially when he saw the scratch on Lapis Lazuli's right wing. There were three angry looking scrapes running the entire length of where the bones of Lapis Lazuli's wing were located. The scratches continued across her chest and they still seemed to be bleeding slightly. Thankfully, the scratches weren't too deep but they were very painful and Lapis Lazuli was still clutching her scratched wing with her other, unharmed wing. The infliction of the scratch was done by Brutus when he attacked Lapis Lazuli, Zephyr and Brisa to stop them from escaping. Pluto was very worried.

"We're going to have to get you back to Tulio's Aviary to have that scratch checked out," he said. At this, Lapis Lazuli let loose a scoffing laugh and looked at Pluto obnoxiously.

"Oh yeah? And then what? Return to that place where we're forced into having chicks when we're not ready?" said Lapis Lazuli sarcastically, ignoring the pain emanating from her injury, "Yeah, right, you've got another thing coming, pesky pet."

"But Lapis Lazuli," said Mercury in protest, "You are the last female glaucous macaw alive on this planet. If you and Pluto don't have chicks at some point, you're going to be extinct."

"I would rather let our species go extinct than be smuggled out of this country and sold as collector's items overseas," snarled Lapis Lazuli in disgust. She then looked around the cage and moaned.

"Oh, I wish we were out of this mess," she groaned.

"Quit your whining," said Sapphire, "We're all in the same tree."

"Or cages in this dark and gloomy room," said Mercury. It was true. The storeroom was very dark indeed. The only light the room got was the artificial light shining through a large window that lacked glass. And it was cold and damp. Ruby, Chiquitita and Orquidea looked like they were filled with fear. They were also clutching their wings for they were in pain. The cats must have hurt their wings during the chaos Dash whipped up a while ago and when they were stuffed back into their cages. Ruby was especially full of fear. She was constantly looking this way and that as though a monster were lurking in the shadows about to jump out at them. Jupiter saw Ruby's fearful behaviour.

"What's up with her?" he asked. Orquidea looked at him with a fierce glare.

"It's none of your business, scarlet macaw," she growled. Then she and Chiquitita began to comfort the frightened Ruby. However, Ruby was not the only macaw to show intense discomfort. Venus seemed to be restless as well and was shivering, but not from cold.

"What is it, Venus?" asked Pluto.

"This... feels familiar for... some reason," murmured Venus timidly. At this, Zephyr let a laugh of mockery escape his beak.

"How, pet macaw girl?" he said rather snidely, "You've been caught by smugglers before?"

Venus just looked at him stuck for words. However, it felt like that she had been in a situation like this before. Then flashbacks happened in her mind. They were only brief but they were disturbing. Venus then heard distressed squawks, a monstrous white form towering over her and four legged furry forms glaring at her with unsympathetic eyes. She then began to hyperventilate.

"Oh, I wish we were out of here," she cried and with that, she slumped against the cages bars. Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn and Mars looked on in puzzlement, as did Neptune and Ceres and Pluto.

"Looks like she might have had a traumatic experience at some point in her life," said Mars.

"But how? When?" asked Jupiter, "Susan and Lucy received her and Mercury as chicks like us when we were given to Blake, Drake and Jake and our five owners had raised us with love and care for as long as I can remember. Surely she can't have faced abuse before..."

At this, Ruby shot Jupiter a glare and shouted, "What? You're owned by humans as well!?"

Jupiter flinched at Ruby's angry response.

"Yes, Ruby if that is your name," he said firmly, "We've been pets pretty much all our lives."

At this, Ruby, Chiquitita and Orquidea laughed in mockery at this. Esmeralda only looked on with a glare while Cobalto remained silent. Then Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire looked at Jupiter.

"So it seems that pet macaw girl here with her Lear's and glaucous macaw friends," crooned Zephyr condescendingly, referring to Venus, Mercury and Pluto, "Aren't the only lowly pets here at all."

Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire tittered childishly and brattishly after Zephyr said this. Jupiter shot the four macaws a glare.

"Your attitude is not going to get us anywhere," he said firmly, "Especially in this nightmarish place."

"There must be some way out of here," said Esmeralda. Then Jupiter realised something.

"I know," he said, "Since I, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Ceres are pets and had stayed in cages before, we have learned to operate cage door locks."

As Jupiter said this, Veggie's voice sounded.

"That's just what I was going to say, Jupiter," said the tabby cat. At this, the group of macaws turned and saw Veggie with Sunset, Dash and Travis standing by his sides. They had managed to undo their cage locks and had left their cages.

"Let's set these birds free," said Veggie with a determined look on his face. Jupiter and the other eight macaws smiled but the remaining macaws, among them Zephyr and Brisa, made scowls on their faces.

"Then let's get outa here," snarled Zephyr but before the group could set to the task, a lot of the birds around the group began to whimper and back away. Something had entered the storeroom. It was a grey cat with brown eyes, and its brown eyes, accompanied by a wicked grin, were filled with a taunting and mocking attitude. Birds in cages nearest to the cat backed away in fear. When Veggie, Dash, Sunset and Travis saw the cat walk towards the group with its mean eyes piercing the birds and frightening them, they immediately dived into hiding. Jupiter then let loose a growl.

"Now what's up!?" he muttered angrily. Then he noticed that Uranus, Mars and Saturn with some of the other macaws apart from Ultramarine the female hyacinth macaw, were gazing at the newcomer that had just stalked into the room. Jupiter followed his gaze until his brown eyes landed on the grey cat as it taunted a couple of parakeets. It was Brutus and he had come to have a little fun with the captured and imprisoned birds.

"Whassup, little birdies?" he crooned nastily as he was tickled by the birds' terrifying behaviour, "Afraid to come towards a cat like me?"

Venus shivered as she saw Brutus then walk up to a group of toucans in another cage while Mercury and Pluto looked on in fear and Zephyr, Lapis Lazuli, Brisa and Sapphire wore looks of disgust and fury. From behind a few caged birds, Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset watched the scene. Luckily, Brutus had not noticed that these four pets had escaped. As Brutus approached the toucans, the big billed birds backed away towards the part of the cage furthest from the wicked cat. Then Brutus extended a paw through the cage bars.

"Oh, come on," he said in mock admiration, "I only want to pet one of you for you are so cute."

Mars glared fiercely at the grey cat as he continued taunting the toucans.

"Let me at him," he snarled in a low voice, "I wanna rip his fur out."

However, Saturn restrained him and told him to shut up. Mars did so. The toucans looked at each other timidly before one, a young one, finally decided to approach Brutus. The toucan then began to slowly pace towards Brutus, fear boiling the closer it got. When it was right near Brutus's paw, it began to quiver more and more violently as its fear reached boiling point. It closed its eyes and whimpered as it moved its head under Brutus's paw. But just before the toucan could expect a comforting pet on the head, Brutus quickly retracted his paw and let loose a very loud hiss right into the toucan's face, making the bird screech and shoot to the opposite side of the cage with the others. Brutus exploded into a maniacal laughter at the reaction.

"Oh, frightened birds," he cackled, "I sure love 'em."

The macaws looked on with faces of disgust, fear, shock and horror.

"That cat's a psychotic bully," said Jupiter under his breath. Then suddenly, a dark grey blur leaped in and crashed into his, Mars, Saturn and Uranus's cage and knocked it over. The scarlet, green-winged, blue-and-gold and great green macaws were thrown about like toys in a box as their cage was bowled over. The other macaws, especially Ceres, Pluto, Venus and Mercury, reacted in shock. Neptune squirmed in his tiny cage and gasped when Brutus's piercing brown eyes filled with scorn penetrated him like a poison dart. Brutus then raked his eyes next over Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire (who reacted in fear, especially Venus, or disgust, especially Zephyr and Brisa), and then Ceres, making her flinch, and then Ruby, Chiquitita, Orquidea, Cobalto, Esmeralda and finally Ultramarine. The macaws all looked back in fear or anger.

"Ah, I know I'm probably one of the nastiest cats around," said Brutus in a low voice, "But I have... a DREEEAAAM..."

And with that, he leapt away from the cages, leaving the group of macaws to gaze at him. From their hiding place, Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset continued to watch the Brutus in disgust and shock as a song began to start up in the background. (The song is 'Money, Money, Money' by ABBA. However, its lyrics are modified as you'll see next).

Brutus then began to trot towards the group of macaws, a mean look on his face and a grin filled with excited glee.

Brutus: You think I'm gonna turn you birdies into an all-you-can-eat buffet... 'cos I'm a cat... (he leaps towards Mercury and company's cage and shoves his face right against the bars, making Mercury, Venus and Pluto flinch but Zephyr, Lapis Lazuli, Brisa and Sapphire hiss)

Brutus (looks from Mercury and company to Ceres and then to Ruby, Chiquitita and Orquidea): You think I'm gonna make a massive meal out of you birdies... but it's not that (he leaps away. Macaws look on angrily, disgustedly or fearfully)

Brutus (trots by a row of other caged birds): In my dream, it's something else. No it's not food, it's something else. And it's gonna come from sellin' all you precious little bir-dies... (musical section)

Brutus (dollar signs and paper notes rain in background): Money, money, money... yes it's money... that's my biggest dream! Money, money, money... it sounds funny... but that's my ultimate dream (He leaps to another spot)

Brutus: Ahaaaaa-aaa-aa-haaa... Oh, I sure cannot wait (he leaps away). It will be from all you birdies... that's my biggest dream! (Dollar notes and sign rain down behind him)

Brutus: that's my biggest dream! (He trots again as musical instrument section plays)

Brutus (glares menacingly at other birds who are depressed in their cages): oh you sure do look so woe-be-gone and you wish that you were flyin' free?... that's too bad. So you say you're missin' your Brazilian homes and beautiful trees? That's so sad. (He leaps away and trots by more caged birds)

Brutus: In my dream, I have a plan, to sell you birdies and hopefully then, lotsa metallic discs and paper slips will be landin' in my paws... (musical section; lumps to another space and dances)

Brutus: Money, money, money... yes it's money... that's my biggest dream! Money, money, money... it sounds funny... but that's my ultimate dream!

Brutus: (evil grin on his face) Ahaaaaa-aaa-aa-aaa... Oh, I sure cannot wait. It will be from all you birdies... that's my biggest dream! (Musical section; Brutus jumps away)

Brutus (dances on his back legs on top of a pyramid of caged birds with his paws held above his head; more dollar signs and paper notes rain in background): Money, money, money... yes it's money... that's my biggest dream! (Musical section)

Brutus (imagines his paws full of dollar notes and coins in front of his face): Money, money, money... it sounds funny... but that's my ultimate dream (He drops imaginary dollar notes and coins and leaps to another spot)

Brutus (trots towards Jupiter and group): Ahaaaaa-aaa-aa-haaa... Oh, I sure cannot wait. It will be from all you birdies... that's my biggest dream! (Musical section; Brutus jumps over to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Mars's cage and grabs Jupiter by the neck with a paw)

Brutus: that's my biggest dream! (He drops Jupiter into cage)

Then after he had finished his song, Brutus looked at the macaws with an evil face.

"Goodnight, my precious little feathered gold nuggets," he crooned scornfully, "Get some rest, 'cos we've got a busy day tomorrow, an' I'm sure you lot will find it very exciting and interesting."

And with that, he let loose a meowy laugh and dashed off for the door, through which he disappeared and exited the room.

"Don't count on it, cat," yelled Mars as Brutus left, "Money isn't anything to life you know. And if you DARE lay a paw on my friends, I'll TEAR your WHISKERS OUT!"

As he said this, Jupiter stood up. Then Uranus made a dreaded look on his face.

"Did you hear what that cat said about tomorrow?" he asked. Jupiter glared at him.

"I don't know, but I am NOT gonna stay in this decrepit dungeon any longer," he growled and began to look for the cage door. In Mercury and the other six macaws' cage, Mercury and Pluto looked dumbfounded. Near them, Venus was panicking while Lapis Lazuli, Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire were burning with fury. Brutus's song had finally pushed these five to boiling point.

"I did not like that cat's song, Pluto," said Mercury with a frown, "It sent shivers down my spine."

"Especially that horrid look he had on his face the whole time he sung it," said Pluto. He then turned and saw Venus hyperventilate and panic while the other four were furious.

"Hey, you five are you okay?" asked Pluto. This finally sent Zephyr over the edge.

"No, we ARE NOT! CERTAINLY NOT ME!" he snarled and with that he threw himself against the side of the cage where the cage door was, jolting it and knocking the other six macaws over.

"Hey, watch it," shouted Lapis Lazuli as she unwrapped the chain holding her to Pluto around her other leg, the one on which the chain wasn't attached. Zephyr, however, didn't care and flung himself harder into the cage door, jolting the cage more violently and sending the other six macaws into a tumble.

"Zephyr, stop it," shouted Sapphire as she tripped over Brisa during the jolt, "You're causing the rest of us chaos."

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE!?" screeched Zephyr at the top of his voice, "I WAN OUTA HERE! THERE'S (flings himself into the cage door again) NO WAY I'M GONNA (flings himself into the cage door again) BE TAKEN OUT OF THIS COUNTRY AND (flings himself against the cage door again) BE SOLD AS SOME SORT OF THING!"

He continued bashing into the cage door again, harder and harder, jolting the cage and knocking the other six macaws over each time. Lapis Lazuli had had enough after she got her legs tangled up in the chain holding her to Pluto.

"Zephyr," she shouted as the enraged male Spix macaw struck the cage door again, making the cage and the other six macaws jolt. Brisa yelped in pain as she felt shooting pain course through her chest and wing as she landed on her front. Lapis Lazuli stood up.

"Pull yourself together and stop this hissy fit at once," shouted the female glaucous macaw. She then lifted a wing and slapped Zephyr across the face before he could throw himself into the cage door again.

"ZEPHYR," she shouted as she did it. The pain from the slap was enough to snap Zephyr out of his temper tantrum and make him calm down. With him not throwing himself against the cage door and jolting the cage, the other six macaws sorted themselves out.

"Sorry, Lapis," Zephyr said apologetically, "It's just that..."

As he said this, Mercury angrily went over to the cage door and unlocked it by moving the L-shaped lock with his beak out of its cylindrical socket.

"I kind of agree with you, Zephyr," he said angrily, "I want out of here to."

As he opened the cage door, Lapis Lazuli, Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire looked on in shock.

"Did you just-?" began Sapphire.

"Look, it's a pet thing," said Mercury with a frown, "We sometimes stayed in cages so we have experience with..."

But before he could finish, Brisa attempted to fly flee but as she took off, extreme pain flared in her wing and chest. Brisa shouted and crashed back down onto the floor again.

"Brisa," said Zephyr and he left the cage to inspect his sister. As he did this, Jupiter appeared.

"Are you all out, yet?" he asked.

"Yes," said Mercury.

"Then set to unlocking the cages of the other birds, Mercury," commanded Jupiter firmly, "We're going to set every single one of them free. I don't want any of them being smuggled out of Brazil and sold as pets through an illegal black market. Also get Venus and Pluto to help us out as well."

Mercury turned and saw Saturn, Uranus and Mars, together with Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Dash who had come out of hiding as soon as Brutus had vanished, unlock the cages of some other birds.

"We'd better be quick as well," said Veggie as he released Ceres from her cage who joined the group to help the others escape, "As we don't have much time. Those smugglers and their cats could hear us at any moment."

"Okay," said Mercury and with that, he left to help. As he left, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Venus and Sapphire exited their cage and Jupiter was horrified to see that Venus was on the verge of having a panic attack.

"We have an injured Spix macaw behind you, Jupiter," said Pluto. At this, Jupiter turned and saw Brisa sprawled out on the floor clutching her chest and wing. Zephyr was by her side.

"You lot help Saturn, Uranus and Mars and the others help the other birds escape," he commanded and then left to check Brisa. Venus managed to pull herself together and obeyed. Pluto left to do the same but he forgot that he was chained to Lapis Lazuli. As he flew off, the chain between him and Lapis Lazuli straightened and tensed, and Lapis Lazuli's left foot was pulled off the ground.

"Pluto," she shouted as Pluto unintentionally pulled her onto her back and began to drag her. Lapis Lazuli clamped her beak onto a nick in the floor and stopped Pluto in his tracks. Pluto then noticed that he was just flapping in midair but was stationary. At this, he looked back.

"Pluto, you're chained to Lapis Lazuli," said Mercury as he flew nearby to help Neptune out of his cage. Pluto then sighed and descended to the ground. The tension in the chain removed, Lapis Lazuli was able to stand up.

"Well, that's just great," he muttered as he stared at the chain holding him to Lapis Lazuli.

"Well, how are we going to move?" muttered Lapis Lazuli. Pluto then had an idea.

"I know, if I move first, you follow," he said, "But sometimes we may have to move in sync."

"What do you mean?" asked Lapis Lazuli as Pluto ran off towards Ruby, Chiquitita and Orquidea's cage. Seeing the cage about to straighten as Pluto put more distance between himself and her, Lapis Lazuli immediately began to follow to prevent being pulled again. As soon as Pluto stopped and began to open the cage door holding the female scarlet, blue-and-gold and tiny green-winged macaws, Lapis Lazuli began to figure out what Pluto meant.

"Okay, I get it," she said with a frown. Pluto then opened the cage door and Ruby, Orquidea and Chiquitita left the cage.

"Right, if any of you three know how to open a cage," said Pluto, "Join in."

"Why should we be ordered around by some pesky pets and touch those decrepit human things?" muttered Orquidea with a frown.

"No time to explain," said Pluto as he left to unlock Ultramarine's cage. Lapis Lazuli followed. Ruby then raised an eyebrow before turning to the locked cage holding Esmeralda and Cobalto. Back with Brisa, Jupiter was examining Brisa's wing. Brisa's face was twisted into a face of pain and she was clutching her wing tightly. Sapphire and Zephyr stood nearby. Zephyr had a foul look on his face and he looked as though he were about to leap at Jupiter any moment but due to the size of the muscular scarlet macaw, he didn't want to risk getting hurt, for Jupiter was a massive scarlet macaw, taller than Venus, Mercury and Pluto. However, Jupiter would not attack unless it was necessary. As Jupiter pressed a talon on the part where Brisa's wing joined her body, Brisa flinched with a gasp and open beak.

"It's a sprained wing," he said to Zephyr and Sapphire, "I can tell because I suffered from a sprained wing myself when I and my group lived in the UK. I was trying to save Pluto from some vicious dogs and ended up crash landing and injuring my wing shortly after escaping I and Pluto escaped them. In this macaw's case, the skirmish must have caused the injury."

"How bad is it?" growled Zephyr, clearly reluctant to trust Jupiter. The scarlet macaw looked back at him with slightly sad look on his face.

"I'm not a bird doctor, I'm afraid," he said, "We need to get her back to Tulio's Aviary and get her examined. This is serious as she will not be able to fly but we don't have time for anymore discussions. We need to escape."

Zephyr let loose a frustrated sigh.

"If you think we're going to go back to Tulio's Aviary, red boy," he snarled, "You've got another thing coming."

"Look, those humans are the only ones able to treat your sister's injury far better than us," said Jupiter in a slightly harsh voice. Zephyr just glared at him. Nearby, Ruby had managed to unlock the cage door and set Cobalto and Esmeralda free. As the two exited the cage, Esmeralda was surprised.

"How did you do that?" he asked. Ruby just looked at him and sighed. Esmeralda then felt her wing.

"Oh, it really hurts," she muttered. Behind her, Sunset and Travis opened more cage doors containing some honeycreepers and finches, toucans and parakeets. Sunset also helped some parakeets that were still injured out of their cages. Nearby where Travis and Sunset were, Uranus was examining Neptune's wellbeing. Neptune was glad to be out of the tiny cage but he looked in pain and was holding his wing and standing on one foot.

"I can't believe that those humans and their cats would be so inconsiderate, Uranus," muttered Neptune as he grasped his wing, "We hyacinth macaws are large creatures and must have cages big enough to house us as our owners Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake know very well. Those cages are fitter for carrying rabbits than big birds such as me."

"You can say that again," muttered Mars nearby as he set some conures free, "The other hyacinth macaw's on the same perch."

Neptune turned and looked at the other hyacinth macaw, the female named Ultramarine who had also been set free. She looked in pain as well but was glad to be out of the tiny cage like Neptune was. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Ceres, Pluto (who moved with Lapis Lazuli), Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset continued unlocking more and more cages and setting more and more birds free but they were unaware that their activity had been heard by one of the smugglers' cats.

Outside the storeroom, the black and white cat, Otis, was curious about some unusual sounds coming through the door. There were metallic sounds, like the sounds of metallic doors being opened, and he had heard them while he was taking a break from watching the film the rest of the cats including Brutus and their owners, Vera, Luke and Marvin were watching. Otis then placed his ear at the door and listened. When he could not make a clear picture of why there were metallic sounds coming from the storeroom, he began to look for a small hole in the wall. The smugglers' den was an old house and there were cracks and holes everywhere in every part of the wall. The large hole through which Sunset, Travis, Veggie and Dash had managed to gain access into the den was one of them. The ceilings looked alright but the paint was peeling from them. When Otis found a hole, he peered through it. However, what he saw shocked and horrified him. Back in the living room, Marvin, Luke and Vera who continued eating popcorn, cheered at an exciting mart in the movie. The cats including Brutus sat around them. They sat on the floor, the table, and the arms and back of the sofa with their owners. They also cheered at the exciting bit of the movie. As the group continued cheering excitedly, Otis ran in.

"The birds have escaped their cages," he cried, which were nothing more than cat screeches to the three humans. However, none of the cats or the three humans heard him through the loud sounds emanating from the TV. Seeing that he was not getting any response and that the sounds from the movie on the TV were drowning out his voice, Otis began to look around for the remote control. After finding the black rectangular thing with buttons, he rushed over to it and grabbed it. Then Otis pressed the red 'off' button, turning off the TV much to the other cats and three humans' frustration. They shot him an angry glare each.

"OI!" cried Vera.

"OTIS!" cried some of the cats.

"What did you do that for?" shouted Brutus, "There was a brilliant part of the movie on!"

Then Marvin and Luke jumped off the sofa and began to chase Otis for the remote. Otis then ran off towards the storeroom entrance with it.

Back in the storeroom, the birds were all finally free from their cages. As soon as all the birds were out, Jupiter shouted, "Alright, you lot. Those of you that should be in Tulio's Aviary go back there and carry the injured with you, while the rest of you make a break for it to the jungle."  
As soon as Jupiter had finished this sentence, the entire room was filled with the flapping noises of dozens and dozens of birds as well as a flurry of colourful wings and blurs. All the birds took off and escaped through the glassless window. Some of the birds flew off in the direction of the jungle while the remainder, with those that were too injured to fly being carried in the talons of those that could fly, split off from the others and escaped in the direction of Tulio's Aviary. Then as soon as the last of the birds had gone, Jupiter and his group, together with Ruby, Orquidea, Chiquitita, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto, Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli and Zephyr and his sister Brisa who were the only ones left then prepared to escape themselves.

"Right, let's get out of here," said Jupiter but before he could take off, Sunset said, "Wait, we might have a big problem."

When Jupiter heard this, he turned round and looked at some of the birds. Brisa, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto and Neptune were holding their wings and Lapis Lazuli was showing the scratch on her wing and chest. At this, Jupiter made a face of dread but did not give up. He knew that the group would not be able to escape through the storeroom's door as the smugglers and their cats would catch them. There was only one choice but it wasn't going to be easy.

"Can any of the rest of you fly?" asked Jupiter. Only Sunset, Zephyr, Pluto and Travis put their wings up. The other birds made faces of uncertainty. Jupiter then nodded to Sunset, Travis, Veggie and Dash and said, "Help me get those that cannot fly or who think they can't fly onto the window ledge, now!"

Then without a second's hesitation, the tabby cat, greyhound, and the two cockatoos began to help the male scarlet macaw lift the other macaws onto the window ledge. As Veggie carried Ultramarine onto the window ledge, the female hyacinth macaw gave him a hostile glare.

"You cats are disgusting bird-eating pests, didn't you know that?" she snarled. Veggie just ignored her and moved onto the next bird. Sunset and Travis then placed Neptune onto the window ledge while Jupiter helped Zephyr place Brisa on the ledge before leaving to get another bird.

"Quickly, folks," said Dash as he helped the two glaucous macaws onto the window ledge, "There's not much time left."

And he was right, the smugglers and their cats could burst into the room at any moment. As Esmeralda was placed by Sapphire, she gave the Lear's macaw a fierce glare. Sapphire glared back at her. Ruby and Chiquitita did the same with Zephyr and Brisa and vice versa.

"Why are you glaring at each other?" asked Saturn. However, he got no answer from any of the six macaws. Travis, Sunset, Veggie, Dash and Jupiter continued helping the other macaws onto the window ledge but by the time they managed to get the last macaws onto the window ledge, a, "The (bleep)in' birds have escaped!" accompanied by an explosion of angry cat screeches reached the ears of the macaws, the two cockatoos, the tabby cat and the greyhound. At this, Jupiter and Dash looked back and gasped in utter horror as the three humans, Vera, Luke and Marvin lunged at them with their cats. Veggie, Sunset and Marvin quickly jumped or fluttered onto the window ledge while Dash and Jupiter lunged at the cats and three humans, barking and screeching and before long, the trio of humans and the group of cats found themselves in another fight with Dash, only this time, Jupiter got himself involved. The shock of the sudden explosion of human cries of pain accompanied by swearwords, cat screeches, dog barks and scarlet macaw squawks shocked the entire group on the window ledge. Veggie jumped onto a pipe nearby while Travis and Sunset took off. The macaws then tried to get airborne but then the problem Sunset had sensed revealed itself, but it was worse than what Sunset thought.

As Brisa attempted to fly again, searing pain shot through her chest and wing. The same occurred to Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine and Cobalto. However, the other macaws apart from Zephyr and Pluto also noticed something as well, and Pluto realised that he was struggling to carry Lapis Lazuli who was chained to him, due to her being unable to fly with her scratched wing. As all the macaws jumped into the air, Sunset cried, "Wait, don't jump all at... OOOOOOOOONCE!"

She, Travis and Veggie cried as the cloud of macaws fell like stones out of the air. Brisa, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine and Cobalto were crying in agony as they fell while the others including Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Ceres were struggling to stay aloft. They flapped madly but continued falling with only Zephyr hovering in midair. Pluto also found himself being dragged down by the weight of Lapis Lazuli who acted like a heavy stone attached by chain to Pluto's ankle. Veggie then slid down the pipe while Travis and Sunset, together with Zephyr, dived down after the dropping cloud of macaws. The cloud of macaws continued plummeting and crying. Saturn tried flapping his wings hard but this only slowed down his descent. The macaws continued falling until... WHUMPH! They landed on a soft pile of cushions. As the macaws began to sort themselves out, Sunset, Travis and Veggie managed to reach the ground with Zephyr close behind and made a beeline for the pile of macaws on the cushions. However, as Veggie began to help Sapphire, she hissed loudly and lashed her claws at his face, almost scratching him as Veggie had dodged the attack.

"Get away from me you FILTHY ALLEY-RAT!" snarled Sapphire and attempted to attack Veggie again.

"I-I-I can explain!" shouted Veggie as he dodged the female Lear's macaw's third attempt to attack him. As Saturn hopped off the pile of cushions, he could not believe that he had just plummeted out of the sky. In shock, he looked at his wings. To his horror, he realised that the flight feathers had been damaged. The flight feathers on the wings of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Uranus and Ceres and the other uninjured macaws apart from Zephyr and Pluto were also damaged. They must have been damaged during the skirmish with the cats during their capture at Tulio's Aviary. Only Zephyr and Pluto's wing feathers were intact and thus fine.

"Veggie," shouted Saturn, "The flight feathers on our wings are damaged. We cannot fly at all."

However, Veggie did not reply as he continued dodging Sapphire's claw attacks. Then a white cockatoo appeared and hooked his claws on Sapphire's wings.

"Don't attack him, he's our friend!" shouted Travis as he struggled to restrain Sapphire. At this, Sapphire's rage turned to shock.

"WHAT!?" she retorted. Behind them, Sunset had managed to help the other macaws sort themselves out from the pile of cushions.

"What happened? Why didn't those of you that didn't have a sprained wing fly?" she asked. Ruby then looked at her and showed her the flight feathers on one of her wings.

"My wings had been clipped," she said. When Zephyr heard this, he said sarcastically, "Well that's just great, isn't it!?"

Ruby shot him a threatening glare.

"Don't make me strangle you, you Spix macaw wretch," she snarled.

"STOP QUARRELLING!" shouted Sunset, making Ruby and Zephyr look at her. Just then, Brisa came up to Zephyr, clutching her wing.

"Let's get out of here before we're spotted," said Veggie.

"Wait, where are Jupiter and Dash?" asked Saturn. As if on cue, a light grey greyhound and a scarlet macaw showed up. They had managed to escape the smugglers and their cats. However, they were covered in a few scratches and bruises. Dash had a few scratches but Jupiter looked worse. He had a bleeding scratch on his abdomen, a black eye and his left wing was missing some flight feathers, especially the primaries. However, based on his injuries it looked as though he had put up quite a fight with those smugglers and their cats. Jupiter also looked shaken and was breathing rapidly and shaking but he looked smug. His talons were also covered in a few drops of blood. The others were horrified at the state of the scarlet macaw.

"Jupiter, Dash," cried Veggie and went over to examine their injuries.

"I managed to g-g-g-give those humans a-a-a good hiding," said Jupiter smugly, "However..."

"You need treatment," said Veggie seriously, "I hope that scratch isn't too deep."

Mars then stepped forward, his red feathers raised and a look of thunder adorning his face.

"Well, if I EVER see those humans and cats again," he snarled, "I'm gonna tear their hair out and claw them outright!"

"Mars," snapped Neptune, "Sometimes in a fight-or-flight situation, fighting isn't always the wisest choice."

No sooner had these words escaped from his beak, than the group was alerted by an extremely angry cat screech, accompanied by some footsteps and shouting. Jupiter looked back at the direction of the sounds' source.

"I agree with Neptune completely," he said in a low voice as the sounds of the footsteps grew louder and another furious cat screech was heard, "Sometimes the opposite of fighting is the wisest option to take."

Then he shouted the others, "RUN LIKE THE WIND!"

Then without hesitation, the entire group took off moments before the three smugglers and their cats finally made their appearance around the corner of a house. Two passers-by were knocked out of the way by the group as they barged past them. Marvin, Vera and Luke looked covered in scratches and bruises, especially on their faces and arms, and many of the scratches were bleeding. Some of the cats also looked a state but their injuries didn't deter the three humans and their cats from going after Jupiter and company. As soon as they saw the colourful puddle of animals, they charged after them like a group of enraged bulls. One of the cats, the grey one with the brown eyes, was especially furious. His eyes were like brown volcanoes and he was screeching furiously. Jupiter and company then began to run for their lives. However two of the macaws were struggling to keep up. Pluto was trying to run ahead but Lapis Lazuli, who had been late to start, found herself being pulled along. She kept tripping as the chain linking her to Pluto kept tensing every time Pluto reached a distance equal to the length of the chain.

"Pluto... wait," shouted Lapis Lazuli until she finally fell over and got tangled up in the chain. Pluto then stumbled and both glaucous macaws fell in a heap on the floor. At this, some of the macaws including Mercury, Dash and Jupiter stopped.

"Pluto, Lapis Lazuli," cried Mercury. Dash then quickly ran back towards the pair of glaucous macaws.

"We can't move with this chain," shouted Pluto. Then Dash ducked down.

"Onto my back, quickly," he ordered. At first, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli hesitated but after hearing the enraged screech of Brutus and seeing that he and his group and three owners were seconds away, they complied. Pluto heaved Lapis Lazuli onto Dash's back before jumping on himself. As soon as the chained glaucous macaws were on his back, Dash got up and hurried off with Dash narrowly escaping being slashed by the furious Brutus as he lashed a paw at the greyhound's side. Brutus clearly looked terrifying. His fur was puffed out and his eyes were filled with untold rage. He was basically like a feral creature. Dash then dashed off as fast as he could after the others with Pluto and Lapis Lazuli hanging tightly on his back. Behind the greyhound and the two glaucous macaws, Brutus, closely followed by the other cats and their three owners, began to pursue the group. Then a wild chase started up in the streets of the slums of Rio.

Travis, Sunset and Zephyr flew close to those running on the ground. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres, together with Brisa, Sapphire, Esmeralda, Ruby, Chiquitita, Ultramarine, Orquidea and Cobalto began to pump their legs like pistons in order to stay ahead of their capturers with Ruby clinging onto Chiquitita's wing for she was very small and thus would not run as fast as the others. Behind them, Veggie and Dash with Pluto and Lapis Lazuli on his back, followed. Behind them, Marvin, Luke and Vera with their cats, who wore angry looks on their faces, pursued them despite the pain from their injuries. During the little skirmish with Jupiter and Dash, Jupiter had managed to rake his claws over the three human's faces and arms, inflicting the scratches. However, Brutus had lashed at him and had attacked him, clawing him down the flank and kicking him in the face. Seeing that Brutus was more than a match for him, Jupiter retreated, but Brutus had clamped his teeth onto the flight feathers of his left wing during his escape. However, Jupiter had managed to get free but not before going through excruciating pain as his flight feathers were torn from his wing. But that escape had come with a price: Jupiter was also grounded. However he didn't care as he had to get himself and the others with him to safety first and the gauntlet of the streets were fraught with obstacles. As the group of birds, tabby cat and greyhound dashed through the streets, they dodged any passer-by they encountered, while the passers-by themselves were forced to dodge the fleeing animals and then their pursuers. As the group continued running along, Pluto, who rode Dash behind Lapis Lazuli, looked back at the pursuing smugglers and their cats.

"Can someone do something about our kidnappers?" he cried. He then clung onto Dash's back as Dash dodged a man carrying a large plant. It was important that Pluto hung on because if he fell off, he'd drag Lapis Lazuli off with him as well due to him being chained to her. Sunset then looked around for something to put off the group's pursuers until her eyes landed on a pile of apples on a fruit stall. At this, she slowed down a bit and then flew towards it. Then as soon as Sunset was near the apple pile, she struck the apples lowest on the pile with her talons. The pile of apples turned into an avalanche as apples higher up from Sunset's strike point then began cascading down from the stall stand and onto the floor, right in front of Marvin, Vera and Luke and their cats. The moment the three humans and their cats' feet made contact with the apples, they began slipping and sliding all over the place. This was enough to slow the group of smugglers down.

"Wise move, Sunset," shouted Jupiter. Sunset nodded and smiled in approval. However, the group was not clear of the smugglers yet, as one of the cats was still pursuing them. Brutus was still furiously charging after the group like an enraged bull. He screeched loudly as he dodged every human and obstacle he came across and continued pursuing the group. As the group ran along, Pluto, stilling clinging onto Dash and Lapis Lazuli, looked back mortified at the sight of the savage cat.

"AAAAHHH!" he screeched, "That psychotic cat's right behind us!"

Brutus, with his eyes saturated with a fiery fury and total insanity and his fur puffed out and claws extended, continued charging on after the group. Jupiter stole a glance at the psychotically enraged cat and faced ahead.

"Don't look back," he told the other, frightened macaws and Veggie, "Don't look back, everyone."

Every other animal, including Jupiter and Zephyr, Sunset and Travis who flew overhead, were clearly frightened. Jupiter and the others who were still owned had never known a vicious cat like Brutus and they dreaded to think of the consequences if any animal got caught in the savage cat's wrath but they pushed the thought away to concentrate on escaping. The group dodged two men carrying a sofa either by running under it or around the men's feet while Zephyr, Travis and Sunset flew over them. The two men stopped in shock as a group of colourful blurs shot past them.

"What the-!?" said one of the men and then the two were stunned again as a grey blur jumped onto the sofa's back and then rocketed off after the colourful blurs. As the group made it past that obstacle, Brisa began to complain.

"Oh, what are we gonna do if hardly any of us apart from my brother cannot fly?" she muttered.

"Hey, quit your complaining," said Venus angrily, "We're all on the same perch."

"I can't believe those... wretched smugglers would do this to birds," shouted Mars as he dodged a discarded can.

"Tch, they steal us from Tulio's Aviary," muttered Neptune angrily, "Stuff us into cramped cages, and now they injure us? What sort of humans are they? What do they think we are!?"

"I don't know but those humans should be caught," growled Ceres as she dodged an apple core and a banana skin.

"Humans, honestly," shouted Chiquitita, "Glad I'm not under the ownership of one."

As she said this, Ruby shot her a rather offended glare.

"Sorry, Ruby," said Chiquitita. Then Mercury became curious.

"Ruby's had experience with humans?" he asked.

"Never you mind, you nosey pet," snapped Chiquitita angrily.

"Look, let's just focus on escaping," said Jupiter nearby. The group continued running on when Pluto yelled, "HE'S CLOSING IIIIIN!"

It was true; Brutus was closing in on the group, the gap between him and those at the back, Dash, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and Veggie getting smaller and smaller by the second. Dash stole a glance at the cat.

"I'm NOT gonna allow that psychotic feline lay a claw on any of these birds, least of all the last pair of glaucous macaws riding on my back!" he growled.

"Well, DO SOMETHING!" shouted Lapis Lazuli. Dash then looked this way and that to see if he could find something to slip up Brutus when Jupiter shouted, "Look OUT!"

At this, everyone looked ahead and saw a large group of people partially blocking the street. Seeing no other choice and with Brutus getting closer and closer to Dash's hind legs, Jupiter quickly formulated a plan. As soon as the group was close to the obstacle, they split up. Some went one way around the obstacle of people while the others went the other way. Travis, Zephyr and Sunset, however, flew over. Brutus tried following but the group was soon swallowed up by the flurry of legs and feet from the thick crowd. At this, he screeched to a halt but bumped and struck into some of the legs and feet much to the shock of the persons. Brutus' eyes then began to scan the surroundings for any flash of colour but to his enraged frustration, he let loose a screech, before quickly retreating out of the crowd. On the other side of the large clump of people, the group had reformed and continued their escape out of the slums of Rio.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14- a place to spend the night in the jungle**

The group of nineteen macaws, tabby cat, greyhound and two cockatoos finally made it out of the slums of Rio and into the jungle. However, it was getting late. As the group walked into the eerily quiet realm of tall trees and dense vegetation, Mercury looked around rather timidly.

"Seriously, folks," he said, "Do you think it would be a better idea if we settled in a shelter of some sort for the night?"

"Look, Mercury," growled Sapphire, "We'll be safe right here!"

"And besides," said Zephyr, "The jungle is where we macaws naturally live. Besides that, if we stayed back in Rio, those smugglers could easily find us and catch us again."

"Ugh, that's something we could do without," muttered Brisa nearby as she grasped her sprained wing. Next to her, Jupiter looked at the scratch down his flank.

"Oh, good, it's stopped bleeding," he said gladly.

"I hope that scratch doesn't become infected," said Veggie worriedly, "I'm just worried it might come into contact with the dirt on the ground and provide bacteria with access."

"You could do with a bandage or something," said Mars.

"Yeah, but since we're far away from Tulio's Aviary and most of us are grounded, including myself for my tattered left wing," said Jupiter, "How are we going to access first aid?"

Esmeralda then shot the scarlet macaw a glare.

"Jeffery," she muttered.

"It's Jupiter," said Jupiter with a frown.

"Whatever you're called," snapped Esmeralda, "You seriously don't know _anything_ about the wild, don't you?"

She then rolled her eyes and began to look around for some fresh moss.

"Why do we have to put up with birds that have spent all their lives as human's items rather than free-flying birds which is what they should be," the female great green macaw continued groaning, "Especially if they are friends with animals birds should avoid!?"

And with that she shot Veggie a stink eye and then picked some moss from a patch of it nearby.

"Look, while it's true that cats are a natural enemy to most birds," said Veggie, "Not all cats kill and eat them for food. I'm one of them, and I'm a vegetarian. I've never killed and eaten a bird, fish or mouse my entire life."

At this, Esmeralda let loose a brief laugh of mockery. Orquidea, Ruby, Zephyr and Brisa did the same while Ultramarine, Cobalto, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire and Chiquitita looked on with scowls or frowns on their faces.

"Yeah, right," muttered Sapphire as she walked alongside Mercury, "At least you're not like those wretched cats of those smugglers."

Veggie smiled at her at first but when he realised that she said this out of sarcasm, he erased the smile and just looked ahead with a frown. Esmeralda continued looking for some more moss and when she had found enough; she went over to treat Jupiter's injury with the moss.

"In the Amazon, our tribes and clans have a group of medical macaws or birds," explained Esmeralda as she applied the leaves on Jupiter's scratch to clean it of the dried blood, "They're called tribe or clan nurses or healers and they help to treat injuries such as broken wings, scratches and insect bites and we use a variety of suitable plants and pieces of sticks as our medical equipment. My mother was one of the nurses of my tribe, the green macaws and she taught me basic medical skills such as how to clean bleeding wounds with moss as moss is an excellent plant for soaking up excess blood."

Jupiter winced and made a face as Esmeralda treated his wound. The moss was damp, which provided it with excellent cleaning properties for cleaning Jupiter's scratch of the dried excess blood. While Esmeralda continued cleaning Jupiter's clotted wound, Dash was examining the chain linking Lapis Lazuli and Pluto together.

"I don't know how we're going to get this off the glaucous macaws," he said to the others, examining the silvery thing in one of his paws.

"Do you have any idea of what it is, Dash?" asked Pluto. Dash shook his head.

"I'm afraid I don't," he said, "I've not seen it before but based on how those smugglers have chained you two together, it's clear that those smugglers don't even care about the animals they're tying to smuggle out of Brazil."

"Tell me about it," said Pluto angrily, "I cannot even fly while chained to Lapis Lazuli who is injured."

Lapis Lazuli then glanced down at her scratch and groaned.

"We'll have to see to that chain tomorrow," said Dash, "And at least that scratch has healed up. I just hope it doesn't get infected."

As he said this, Esmeralda came in and asked, "Does that glaucous macaw have a scratch too? I have a few spare clean leaves left."

"Oh, I could do with having it treated; miss," said Lapis Lazuli, "Thanks."

Esmeralda then tossed away the moss she had used to clean Jupiter's wound and applied whatever moss she had left to Lapis Lazuli's scratch. Lapis Lazuli winced and twisted her face as Esmeralda continued cleaning her injury.

"Is it any wonder you cannot fly," said Pluto sympathetically. Then after Esmeralda had finished cleaning Lapis Lazuli's injury, she threw away the rest of the moss.

"There, that should do it," she said, "We might have to find a stream or somewhere to give those scratches a proper clean but in the meantime, we're going to need large leaves to protect that scratch from the dirt while we sleep. Just don't get that wound dirty, okay?"

"Thanks, Esmeralda," said Lapis Lazuli gratefully, "I'm so glad that one of us is good at treating injuries."

Esmeralda made an approving smile. Sapphire, however, glared at Esmeralda with a hostile look. It was clear that she did not like the great green macaw at all and it was as if she wanted to pounce on Esmeralda to attack. This same hostility was also obvious between Ruby and Chiquitita, and Zephyr and Brisa as they also eyed each other fiercely. Venus then asked Zephyr as he glared at Ruby.

"Why are you glaring at Ruby like that?" she asked. Zephyr did not reply and ignored her before tearing his gaze from the female scarlet macaw and walking on. Sapphire then began to approach Esmeralda with her dark navy blue and teal feathers on end and her face saturated with hostility.

"You know, if I ever so those wretched cats and their smuggler owners again, I'd tear their hairs out," muttered Esmeralda, "Especially for treating us birds like dirt."

"You know, that's exactly what I feel like doing to you, green feathered wretch," snarled Sapphire as she approached Esmeralda. And with that, she lunged at Esmeralda but Jupiter jumped between her and the female great green macaw, spreading his enormous wings out to block any impending fight.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you think you're doing?" asked Jupiter in disbelief.

"I'm gonna give that green macaw wretch a piece of my mind," snapped Sapphire as she tried getting by Jupiter but the large male scarlet macaw mimicked her moves and blocked her path. Esmeralda glared back at Sapphire and opened her wings out.

"Well, come and get some, you dark blue Lear's brat," she snarled, "I wouldn't mind tearing YOUR feathers out like how we did when we lived in the Amazon."

And with that, she began to advance but Neptune stepped in and grabbed her wings to prevent her from flinging herself into a fight with Sapphire. Jupiter continued blocking Sapphire's path while Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto, Ceres, Travis, Sunset, Veggie, Dash and Lapis Lazuli looked on in confusion. Zephyr and Brisa also continued glaring at Chiquitita and Ruby as though ready to fight as well.

"What's up with them?" Uranus asked Ultramarine and Orquidea in a low voice. Ultramarine rolled her eyes and reluctantly explained why Esmeralda and Sapphire were hostile to one another as well as Ruby and Chiquitita were with Zephyr and Brisa.

"Esmeralda's tribe have had a bitter rivalry and enmity with Sapphire's," Ultramarine explained, "The green macaw and the Lear's macaw tribes have faced frequent conflict over food and territory. Each time a green or Lear's macaw meet, they always glare at one another and sometimes end up in a fight."

Ultramarine then nodded to Ruby and Chiquitita as they glared fiercely at Zephyr and Brisa.

"The same is true for Zephyr and Brisa's tribe, the Spix macaws and Chiquitita and Ruby's tribe, the red macaws," continued Ultramarine, "Those two tribes have a bitter relationship too and the reason is the same: food and territory conflict."

"Do the macaw tribes and clans have any restrictive ways to prevent vicious fights?" asked Saturn.

"They do, we have territories," said Orquidea, "But while the green and the Lear's macaw tribes and the Spix and red macaw tribes hate each other, the rest of the tribes and clans living around them get along fine. Ultramarine's hyacinth macaw clan, the Navyfeathers get on very well with every other macaw flock living with us including the Spix, the red, the Lear's and the green macaw tribes despite their hatred for one another. However, we don't get involved with their conflict. We've tried convincing those two pairs of tribes to make peace but they've showed no signs of listening. The blue-and-gold macaw tribe, which is the tribe of macaws I'm from, and the other hyacinth macaw clan, the Bluewings and their co-inhabitants, the blue-throated macaw clan from which Cobalto came from, live in peace with one another and also with the Spix, red, green and Lear's macaw tribes despite their troubles with each other..."

Suddenly, Jupiter's voice interrupted as Sapphire's urge to leap onto Esmeralda became more aggressive.

"Will you two STOP this right NOW," shouted the male scarlet macaw as he tried harder to block Sapphire's urge to claw Esmeralda's green feathers out, "We've had enough conflict and fighting as it is with those cats and smugglers. Do you want to make this worse with your conflict!?"

"Let me past, scarlet macaw boy," shouted Sapphire as she tried barging past Jupiter's muscular bulk. Esmeralda also fiercely struggled in Neptune's large navy blue wings, yelping in pain as her sprained wing flared up. However, she didn't care about this for she was blinded by her urge to attack Sapphire.

"Let me at her," shouted the enraged great green macaw.

"You can't," shouted Neptune, "You're injured and so is Sapphire! If you and Sapphire fight, you'll end up hurting yourselves even more."

Esmeralda did not hear what Neptune said and continued struggling in his wings more fiercely.

"That's right," shouted Jupiter as he continued trying to restrain Sapphire, "Honestly, you two, fighting won't get us anywhere except even more injuries."

Sapphire refused to listen to Jupiter's persistence and continued trying to fight past him. Lapis Lazuli then rolled her eyes and walked into the scene of the four struggling macaws. Pluto was forced to follow her due to the chain linking the two.

"Will you both snap out of it!?" she shouted, "Jeffery's right."

"It's Jupiter," snapped Jupiter as he struggled to restrain Sapphire.

"We don't need this unnecessary conflict," shouted Lapis Lazuli. But then Sapphire managed to barge past Jupiter and lash at Esmeralda. With an enraged squawk, she jumped up and attempted to claw Esmeralda across the face but Neptune pulled the female great green macaw out of the way in time. Lapis Lazuli then rolled her eyes and rushed over to Sapphire. She raised a wing and slapped Sapphire across the face to snap her out of her rage.

"Sapphire, STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" she screeched as she did it. Sapphire did so and calmed down, especially when she was faced with stares from the others with her apart from Ruby and Chiquitita who continued glaring at Zephyr and Brisa. As soon as Sapphire had calmed down, Lapis Lazuli went over to the two Spix macaws, the small green-winged macaw and scarlet macaw and interrupted their faceoff as well.

"You four stop it as well," she snarled in rebuke. This was met by surprised stares from Ruby, Chiquitita, Zephyr and Brisa.

"Who rattled your branch?" shouted Ruby fiercely.

"SHUT UP!" retorted Lapis Lazuli angrily.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Ruby, taken aback by the female glaucous macaw's boldness.

"I said shut up," snapped Lapis Lazuli again, "In other words shut your beak and stop talking!"

Ruby looked at Chiquitita and begrudgingly complied. Zephyr and Brisa did the same, especially Zephyr after Lapis Lazuli slapped him during his temper tantrum before the group escaped the smugglers' den. Pluto stood there. He could not help but admire Lapis Lazuli's assertiveness.

"Bold macaw," he said in a low voice. Veggie and Dash were also awestruck.

"Now," said Lapis Lazuli, "Let's get this straight, shall we? I agree with Jeffery..."

"It's Jupiter, for the second time," shouted Jupiter annoyed.

"Whatever," said Lapis Lazuli, "We've been through enough as a group as it is when we were captured by those wretched smugglers and their filthy cats and held in their sickly room and then when we had to escape from it. Don't you think you'd make things worse by getting into a fight without reason, especially out here in the jungle at this time of night?"

The other macaws, especially Sapphire, Esmeralda, Ruby, Chiquitita, Zephyr and Brisa, and Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Dash stared at her.

"Also, we've still got other things to worry," continued Lapis Lazuli. Then she raised her injured wing, the one with the scratch, and then picked up the chain holding her to Pluto with her other, uninjured wing.

"Look, a lot of us have come out suffering the consequences at the hands and paws of those wretched humans and their cats," she said, "I and Pluto here have suffered the worst with this chain being attached to us and me not being able to fly because of this scratch. Not to mention Pluto here not being able to fly due to me being chained to him."

"Lapis is right," said Pluto, "We seriously cannot get into unnecessary conflicts now."

These words were enough to convict Sapphire, Esmeralda, Ruby, Chiquitita, Zephyr and Brisa and they cooled off much to the relief of the other animals with them. However, they still had their hostile hatred for each other and glared at each other as the group moved on to look for somewhere to spend the night. Chiquitita purposely stepped onto Zephyr's foot as she walked past him.

"Ouch," shouted Zephyr in pain. The little green-winged macaw continued following Ruby without even acknowledging the male Spix macaw. As Zephyr held his foot, he glared at the small green-winged macaw.

"If she does that again, I WILL give her a piece of my mind," he snarled as Venus and Mars walked in, "But let's just find somewhere to spend the night."

And with that, he limped off, followed by Brisa. Mars and Venus looked at each other with confused faces before following. Soon the group was moving deeper into the jungle. The pets were especially unnerved. Mercury inched closer to Veggie, eyes filled with fear as he examined the dark and still surroundings.

"I don't like this place, Veggie," he murmured, "It's likely to be full of predators lurking about searching for a meal, and we could be that choice meal."

As Mercury said this, he gasped in fright as he saw a small snake pounce onto a nearby mouse and chomp down on it. Mercury then quivered as he watched the little serpent slowly swallow its victim whole. Veggie also saw the snake eat its meal.

"None of that existed before Adam's sin against God in the Garden of Eden," he said, "Since animal and human death wasn't a part of God's originally perfect creation back then."

"Well, since we live in times after Adam's sin," said Saturn nearby, "It's clear that God has given us animals methods of avoiding predation. In us macaws' case, it's flying and the ability to live up in the trees."

"That's why we want to be up in those trees;" said Cobalto with a frown nearby, "Down here is not the place for macaws and other canopy birds at all."

Veggie and Mercury looked at the male blue-throated macaw. It was clear that the group had a rather small problem. Apart from Travis, Zephyr and Sunset, all of the macaws were either injured or have had damaged wings, especially Jupiter for his left wing was mostly missing its primary flight feathers and without those, he will never be able to fly properly until they grow back. And Pluto, though he could still fly, he was chained to Lapis Lazuli who cannot fly for her scratched right wing.

"That's a thought," said Veggie. He then ran after Jupiter and said, "Jupiter, how are you birds going to get up into those trees if you can't fly?"

As he said this, Orquidea called out.

"Hey, guys, how about this tree?" she said, indicating to a tall tree with a talon. The group gathered around and looked up. The pet macaws, Dash and Veggie, especially Veggie were amazed by the height of the tree.

"We have had tall trees back in England," said Veggie in awe, "But I've never seen trees grow THIS tall."

"Look, tacky cat," snapped Orquidea, "It's where we macaws live. They weren't meant to be cooped up in human homes in cages, you know."

"Look, while that is true," said Saturn, "Humans who care for their birds know very well that they need exercise so they allow them out..."

Ruby sighed mournfully as Saturn said this.

"Let's just get up there and spend the night," she said in a low voice.

"But how are you going to do that?" asked Veggie, "Most of you cannot fly."

At first, the macaws stared at Veggie until they, including the wild born macaws, realised that he was right. Most of them cannot fly due to either injures or damaged wings and in Pluto's case, being chained to an injured macaw. Jupiter stared down at his tattered left wing.

"I'm afraid Veggie has a point," he said, "We cannot fly with the damage those smugglers have done to you at all. We're going to have to be carried up."

And with that, he eyed Travis, Sunset and Zephyr, the only three birds that could fly.

"What? You want us to carry you birds up?" asked Travis in disbelief.

"But we cannot carry you macaws up, especially you and the two hyacinth macaws," muttered Sunset with a glance at Ultramarine and Neptune.

"Well, you cockatoos and Zephyr are the only three birds not chained to an injured bird and able to fly," said Jupiter sadly, "So can you help us up there please?"

Zephyr then stared at the sulfur-crested and Major Mitchell's cockatoos.

"Well, I'm able to carry Brisa," he said, "And there is no way I'm going to be staying down here, so bring it on."

And with that, he took off, wrapped his talons around Brisa's wings and took off with her. Sunset and Travis reluctantly obliged and looked at the group of macaws.

"Well, who would like to be carried up first?" asked Travis. Sapphire put her wing up but Esmeralda did the same.

"I'll go first," said Sapphire.

"No, I will," snapped Esmeralda and with that, she gave Sapphire a foul glare. Sunset then looked from the female great green macaw to the female Lear's macaw.

"How about we carry you both up together instead?" she muttered, clearly sick of the two macaws' conflict. And with that, she flew over to Esmeralda while Travis flew over to Sapphire. The two cockatoos then picked up the two macaws and lifted them off the ground. As the two macaws disappeared into the trees with Esmeralda and Sapphire in their talons, Jupiter looked at Dash and Veggie.

"Well, since you two don't sleep in trees," he said, "Where are you both going to sleep?"

"Don't worry about us," said Dash.

"We'll look for a derelict animal burrow," said Veggie.

"Are you sure?" said Jupiter with uncertainty, "Because you know it's dangerous down here."

As he said this, Travis and Sunset returned and picked up Mercury and Venus and took off with them.

"There could be deadly snakes large enough to swallow humans whole and all sorts," said Jupiter.

"Look, we appreciate your concern but we're fine, Jupiter," said Dash insistently, "We'll find an animal burrow and cover its entrance with rocks and vegetation to camouflage it from any wild animal that could be lurking around here."

Jupiter was hesitant to let the tabby cat and greyhound sleep on the ground but he relented and gave them the go ahead. Dash and Veggie smiled and began to look for somewhere to spend the night.

"Could you send Travis or Sunset down in the morning to indicate which tree you're staying in please?" asked Veggie as he and Dash left to begin their search for a burrow.

"I will," said Jupiter, "We'll see you in the morning."

Dash and Veggie quickly returned and gave Jupiter a hug. Then they gave Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Mars and Pluto a hug as well. The wild macaws looked in disgust.

"Domestic cats and dogs," muttered Ruby, "They're filthy animals."

"Glad we're not owned by any humans," said Orquidea. Ruby just sighed.

"Tell Mercury, Travis, Sunset and Venus we tell them goodnight," said Veggie as he broke the hug with Mars.

"I will," said Mars as he prepared himself to be carried into the trees by either Sunset or Travis. Dash and Veggie then said their final goodnight and left to find an animal burrow. Within moments, Zephyr, Sunset and Travis returned.

"Right, who would like to go next?" asked Travis. Mars and Ceres stepped forward and Travis and Sunset picked them up by the wings and lifted them into the trees. Zephyr then went to pick up Orquidea. Chiquitita glared at him.

"I'm not picking you up, shorty," growled Zephyr nastily and hostilely as he lifted Orquidea into the air.

"If you're smiling while you're saying that, blue-face," snarled Chiquitita furiously, "I shall purposely scratch it off!"

"Stop it, you two," shouted Orquidea, "We've had enough quarrelling for one day."

Chiquitita watched with a fierce look on her face as Zephyr then carried Orquidea into the trees. Up on the selected tree, the macaws were preparing to settle. Mercury was amazed at the view.

"Wooow," he said in awe as he gazed into the cityscape of Rio, "I never knew that being up here could provide such an amazing view."

"You've never slept in a tree like this at all, pet?" asked Sapphire with a nasty tint to her voice.

"I don't know if I have," said Mercury. Then Venus looked at the cityscape of Rio.

"Strangely enough," she said, "This feels... eerily familiar..."

"Familiar?" said Brisa with a confused frown, "How...?"

"It just does," said Venus. Then she began to try and focus on the brief flashbacks the scene triggered but could not put a wingtip on them. Then when one flashback brought images of colourful feathered comets flying everywhere, Venus flinched and snapped back to reality. Mercury also felt the same weird feeling that this scenery was familiar. However, he shrugged it off as he felt tiredness wash over him indicated with a wide yawn.

"Well, it's time to turn in for the night, anyway," he said, "I'm very tired."

"Join the perch," said Sapphire sarcastically. She then prepared to settle onto her chosen spot but a green bird came in and pushed her aside. Esmeralda had come in and had taken the spot from her.

"HEY!" snarled Sapphire, "That's MY spot!"

"Find your own, Lear's brat," snapped Esmeralda as she settled in Sapphire's spot. Sapphire, seeing that fighting would result in a fatal tumble towards ground, reluctantly allowed Esmeralda to sleep in her place and began to look for another place to sleep just as Travis and Sunset placed Mars and Ceres next to Mercury and Venus.

"Oh, Veggie and Dash say goodnight, by the way," said Mars to Mercury and Venus as Travis released his wings.

"Alright, thanks," said Venus tiredly.

"Huh, one of these days," said Orquidea nearby as Zephyr placed her on a branch near Sapphire, "When you lot decide to venture out into the jungle, you're going to think that they're like cities complete with cats and dogs but the wild isn't like that, you domestic pet macaws."

Mars shot the female blue-and-gold macaw a glare.

"For your information, miss," he retorted assertively, "We know very well that the wild is totally different to the domestic environment."

"And how do you know?" asked Orquidea with slitted eyes full of a condescending attitude.

"Because we've read books about various jungle habitats like the Brazilian Amazon and the jungles of India!" snapped Mars. Orquidea snickered mockingly and then turned to tuck her head under her wing to sleep. Just then Travis, Zephyr and Sunset appeared with the next group of macaws. Sunset carried Chiquitita and Zephyr carried Cobalto while Travis was carrying Lapis Lazuli with Pluto hovering nearby, trying to keep within range the chain would allow him. However, it was proving very difficult. Pluto flinched each time he unintentionally flew within the length of the chain, causing the chain to tighten and pull on his leg.

"Oh, keep up will you," muttered Travis as he held tightly to Lapis Lazuli's wings, "You'd drag this female macaw out of my talons and go plummeting towards earth again."

"Sorry, but I can't help it," said Pluto as he struggled to keep up, "I'm trying not to fly too close to you and..."

He felt the chain tug his leg again which forced him to flap a bit to keep up. Sunset then placed Chiquitita on her requested branch and then returned to help Travis.

"Are you alright, Travis?" she asked. Travis then slowed to a hover.

"It's very tricky," he muttered, "I can't risk dropping this female macaw in my talons or I'd send the last pair of glaucous macaws plummeting as she'd take Pluto with her, and Pluto's struggling to keep up."

Sunset sighed and flew over to help. She then began to shift Pluto while Travis continued carrying Lapis Lazuli up into the trees. As soon as they were in the trees, Travis said, "Where do you two want to be?"

"There please, next to Ceres," said Pluto. At this, Lapis Lazuli grumbled.

"But I want to sleep in a spot away from the pets," she muttered. Travis, however, placed her next to Ceres while Pluto perched between her and Ceres. Sunset then left to fetch another macaw.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to do there, miss," said Travis, "You're chained to Pluto. So you'll have to put up with sleeping next to his friends for the night."

"My name's Lapis Lazuli," snapped the grumpy female glaucous macaw. She then glared at the chain holding her to Pluto. Travis also gave the chain a bitter look.

"Boy, what those poachers have done to you both is just _insidious_ ," snarled the angry sulfur-crested cockatoo with his yellow crest raised, "I hope we could find a solution to get that chain off you both tomorrow morning."

"Not to mention the fact that they deliberately ignored Lapis Lazuli's injury," put in Pluto, "I mean those cats of theirs could have killed her."

Lapis Lazuli just looked at her scratched wing and sighed. Travis then looked at Pluto with a frown.

"Well, you should have seen the battered faces of those three smugglers while we were being chased, Pluto," he said, "Jupiter must have clawed them real good during his and Dash's own escape from the smugglers' den."

"Then how did he end up with a tattered left wing then?" asked Pluto. Just then Jupiter's voice said, "That was done by that savage grey cat, Pluto."

At this, Travis and Pluto turned to see Jupiter get hoisted onto a branch next to Lapis Lazuli by Zephyr and Sunset. Sunset had requested Zephyr to help lift Jupiter into the air because of his size and Zephyr had reluctantly complied. His experience with red macaws seemed to have been very negative. As soon as they had placed Jupiter next to Lapis Lazuli, Jupiter said, "Thanks, you two. I know I'm a heavy macaw."

"Tell us about it," said Sunset as she flopped down next to Jupiter for a bit, "You're like a lead brick."

"The hyacinth macaws are going to be much more difficult," muttered Zephyr. Sunset and Zephyr then left to take a break and then turn to the next macaw.

"I'd better get back to bringing the rest up," said Travis as he saw the Major Mitchell's cockatoo and Spix macaw leave, "I'll be needed to heave the hyacinth macaws up."

And with that he followed Sunset and Zephyr back to the forest floor. Jupiter then began to explain to Lapis Lazuli and Pluto about what happened to him and Dash.

"After you lot had escaped through the window," said Jupiter, "Dash and I were forced to attack those three humans and their cats to fend them off. I immediately set to slashing them on the faces and arms with my claws to show them what would happen if they mistreated and abused birds, especially large macaws such as us. However, that grey cat jumped on me and I was forced to fight him. He slashed me down the flank and kicked me in the face and when I saw that he was more than a match for me, I was forced to retreat but that cat had clamped his teeth onto the feathers of my left wing."

And with that, he pointed to his tattered left wing and continued, "And what came next was the most agonising pain I had ever experienced as the feathers were ripped from my left wing, but I and Dash had managed to escape."

Jupiter then retracted his left wing and began to shudder.

"I had never known a cat as vicious as that one," he muttered, "I've come across aggressive cats before back in London but they're nowhere near as aggressive as that savage creature. He was honestly like a feral wolf. Had I not escaped, I would have probably been mauled."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli shuddered at Jupiter's description.

"Well at least you've given those wretched humans what for," snarled Lapis Lazuli angrily, "I'd have done the same had I had that chance."

"No, you'd probably get caught in that grey cat's wrath," said Jupiter firmly, "And once you're in his claws, you'd probably never escape."

Just then Zephyr, Travis and Sunset appeared with Saturn and Uranus and placed them next to Jupiter.

"Now for Ruby and the two hyacinth macaws," said Travis.

"I'm not going to see to Ruby," said Zephyr spitefully, "You two see to her. Besides that, I'm gonna go to sleep."

"Not until you've helped us with the hyacinth macaws and Ruby, Zephyr," said Sunset firmly. Zephyr let loose a grumble and reluctantly joined the two cockatoos as they descended down toward the forest floor. Uranus rolled his eyes at Zephyr's attitude.

"Their fighting's not going to get us anywhere at this rate," he muttered, "Especially if we're goiug to have to get through this together."

"They're going to have to team up, whether they like it or not," said Jupiter firmly, "And that includes that female great green macaw and Sapphire."

And with that he glanced from Esmeralda to Sapphire who were asleep.

"Let's just get some sleep," said Saturn and with that, he tucked his beak into his back feathers. Uranus, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli did the same. Next to the glaucous macaws, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Ceres were already asleep. Jupiter sighed and stared out into the distant sea of stars formed by the cityscape of Rio.

"I sure hope Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake, Jake and the ornithologists are working to find us," he said in a low voice. He then began to concentrate on getting to sleep himself. Just then, Travis, Zephyr and Sunset managed to heave Neptune and then Ultramarine onto the branches and they went straight to sleep. Zephyr then went to sleep next to his sister Brisa while Sunset and Travis returned to get Ruby. Then after they had hoisted Ruby onto the branches with the others, Travis and Sunset retreated to another branch and went to sleep as well for they were very tired.

Back in Rio, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake were indeed trying to organise a search for the missing macaws as well as Veggie, Dash, Sunset and Travis with Tulio and his team. However, the group was hit with one large wave of good news: the majority of the birds that should be in Tulio's Aviary had returned. However some of the birds, especially the seven highly valuable macaws, the three Spix macaws including Venus, the two Lear's macaws including Mercury and the two glaucous macaws including Pluto were still missing much to Tulio and his team's sadness and disappointment. However, Tulio and his team had work to do with the other birds that had returned. While they did that, Susan and company, together with Francisco, had left to print dozens of 'MISSING' posters of the thirteen pets with one of Susan's pictures of all of them together as the picture. After they had done that, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake stuck up some of the posters and asked passers-by if they had seen any of the pets by showing them one of the pictures. However, to their dismay and disappointment, all they got was no from each passer-by. Susan and company continued until late into the night where they finally gave up and returned to the hotel. They were going to have to wait until tomorrow morning to continue their search.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15- Jupiter meets Blu, Jewel and Rafael**

The next morning arrived in the city of Rio de Janeiro and its surrounding jungle. The sun rose into the sky to mark it and along with the sunrise rose a lot of the citizens in the city. As the morning progressed, the streets became filled with the citizens as they drove in their vehicles or walked along the streets to go to work or take kids to school. However, in one particular workplace a group of bird experts, while they were beginning work on the birds that had returned from the smugglers' den (which they do not know about yet), they still pondered over the whereabouts of the missing birds, especially Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake for their nine macaws, two cockatoos, tabby cat and greyhound were still missing. They and Francisco had been searching for the thirteen pets and the remaining missing birds until midnight when they gave up and left until the morning after having no luck. Susan and Lucy had also prayed to God that the missing animals would soon turn up. However, they weren't the only worried people. Tulio and his team were very worried too but for a different reason: the missing three Spix macaws, the two Lear's macaws and most importantly, the last known pair of glaucous macaws on the planet. They just had to be found at all costs.

Tulio's Aviary was alive with a crowd of people talking. Police cars were still present and yellow and black 'Do Not Cross' banners still closed off the premises to the public. Detectives had been called onto the site to collect samples and investigate how the birds had disappeared as well as how the thieves had managed to have their cats enter the building last night. While employees were being interviewed by the police and the detectives, Susan looked sadly at the picture of the thirteen pets on one of the 'MISSING' posters with tears in her eyes. Lucy came and put her arm around her shoulders to comfort her and Susan returned the hug. Nearby, Blake, Drake and Jake were talking and Tulio was still trying to get his head around how the second group of thieves had managed to enter his aviary, all the while his eyes filled with sympathy on Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake ass they continued to fret about the pets' whereabouts. The five owners clearly felt guilty for leaving their pets at Tulio's Aviary, especially Veggie, Dash, Sunset and Travis who had remained outside when the theft took place. This was exactly how Linda felt when Blu had been taken with Jewel during the last theft. It truly was a sad and baffling morning for Susan and company. However, they were about to met by someone who apparently knew where the missing birds were. In a street outside Tulio's Aviary, a couple of young people, a boy and a girl, were walking. They were accompanied by a calico cat. Jack, Jill and Catina had decided to go out for a walk to get away from the stresses of the smugglers' den. They had got up early and had decided to have an outing to kill time. Both Jack and Jill had orangish hair and dark tan coloured skin. Jack had blue eyes while Jill had green. The two were fraternal twin brother and sister, and they were an orphaned pair of twins. It was clear that the position they were working in was not making them happy, and they still felt guilty in stealing the birds last night.

"Boy, I really wish we'd never stolen those birds, sis," said Jack to his sister, "They really weren't ours at all."

"I hope those birds that we stole last night are alright," said Jill with concern. However, she, Jack and Catina were unaware that all the birds had escaped from the den. With guilt marking their faces, the two siblings walked on with Catina following them. Catina also looked very guilty. Like Jack and Jill she was very concerned for the birds and wished they had never been handles so roughly. When the female glaucous macaw (Lapis Lazuli) had been hurt and chained to the male (Pluto), Catina had been mortified. Furthermore, how the two hyacinth macaws were stuffed into the small cages had disturbed her even more. Jack and Jill especially felt guilty for forcing such large birds into small cages but the small cages were all they had. With these thoughts and feelings of guilt troubling them, Jack looked at the few feathers he had picked up from the floor last night. Two of the feathers were maya blue, three were a dark navy blue and two were a soft teal-tinted turquoise. The remaining feathers were either bluer or cerulean. It was clear they had been shed by the seven valuable macaws when they tried to escape last night. Jack sighed and continued walking when Jill saw something.

"Hey, Jack, look," she said pointing to what she had found, "There's a 'MISSING' poster on that lamppost."

At this, Jack followed Jill's point until his eyes landed on a sheet of paper stuck on a light grey pole. At this, he and Jill ran over to it, followed by Catina. Jack then looked at the sheet and realised that it had a picture of nine macaws, two cockatoos, a cat and a greyhound. One of the macaws was dark navy blue with a teal tinted face and chest and orange-yellow eye rings, another had maya blue feathers and a pair of pigtail-like set of head feathers, two were red with flight feathers and parts of their tail a shade of blue or turquoise: one of the red macaws was vermillion and muscular, while the other was shorter and less burly; a fifth macaw had a dark aqua blue back and yellow front with a green forehead, a sixth was green with a red forehead and blue wing flight feathers, a seventh was very large with dark navy blue feathers and yellow facial features, an eighth macaw had teal-tinted turquoise feathers, a grey head and neck, and yellow facial markings similar to the large dark blue bird, and a ninth macaw was similar to the blue and yellow macaw but its back was darker blue and its front was a richer yellow. Its forehead was not green and its throat had a large blue bib-like patch. One of the two cockatoos was white with a yellow crest, while the other was white and pale salmon pink with a brilliant red, pinkish and yellow crest. The cat was a black, orange and ginger striped tabby while the greyhound was light grey. The thirteen pets' names were written under each of them.

Jack took the poster and looked at it closely. He then looked at the maya blue feathers in the set of feathers he had collected and compared it to the macaw named 'Venus'. Jill and Catina also looked at the thirteen animals. When they recognised them, guilt washed over the three. Jill then turned this way and that until she saw Tulio's Aviary down a road flanked by a row of trees on either side.

"I think we should help the owners of these pets, Jack," she said.

"But how?" asked Jack, "We're the ones who stole them. Don't you think we're in enough trouble as it is already?"

Jill looked at him with insistence while Jack looked back with reluctance. Finally, Jack admitted defeat and followed Jill. Catina also ran after the twin boy and girl. As the three approached the group of people almost swamping the building of Tulio's Aviary, Jack, Jill and Catina crossed the 'Do Not Cross' banners and looked around for whom they assumed to be the owners of the thirteen pets. When their eyes landed on Susan, Lucy and three identical triplet men as they talked with Francisco, they went over to the six. As they approached the six and stood near them, Francisco turned and flinched, startled by the unexpected appearance of the two twins and the calico cat.

"Whoa," he said in shock. His eyes then caught the calico.

"Hey, get that cat of yours off the premises, you two," said Francisco sternly, "This is a bird zone and cats aren't allowed."

Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake only looked at the twins in curiosity. Then the boy, Jack, lifted the poster.

"Are these pets yours, ma'am?" he asked Susan. Susan took the poster from his hand and looked at it.

"They are," said Susan.

"We know where they are," said Jill. Jack nodded in agreement. At this, Lucy looked at the pair full of hope.

"You do?" she said to the girl.

"Yes," said Jill in a low voice, trying to conceal her guilt that she and Jack had stolen the nine macaws. At this, Susan and Lucy considered following the twins but Francisco stopped them.

"I wouldn't if I were you, you two," he said suspiciously, "You don't know who these two are."

"But Francisco," said Susan, "These two believe they know where our pets are."

"We have to go with them," said Lucy. Francisco looked from the two sisters to Jack and Jill. Then Blake, Jake and Drake agreed.

"I think it's best if we go with them, Francisco," said Blake, "If we know where they are, we should find them."

Francisco continued looking at the five with uncertain eyes. Then Tulio and Linda came in.

"What is this?" Tulio asked the six.

"This boy and this girl know where our pets are," said Drake, "We want to go with them and find them."

Jake then saw the feathers in Jack's hands.

"Are those from-?" he began. Jack then went over to Tulio and gave him the feathers. Tulio took them and looked at them. He then began to place each one in his mouth to taste them. Susan, Lucy and the triplet brothers looked on with surprise while Jill was a little repulsed by Tulio's action with the feathers. Catina was also slightly repulsed but she was curious as to why Tulio tasted the feathers. Then after Tulio had tasted all the feathers, his eyes lit up.

"These feathers are from the seven valuable macaws that were kidnapped, including the last pair of glaucous macaws," said Tulio.

"What!?" shouted Francisco in disbelief. Linda then came forward and said, "Well, whatever these two say is true, then we'd better follow them and find them."

"Definitely," said Francisco, "If Mercury, Venus and Pluto are there, the other two Spix macaws, the other Lear's macaw and the other glaucous macaw will also be there too together with the other missing macaws and hopefully that tabby cat, the two cockatoos and the greyhound."

When Francisco mentioned tabby cat, Catina's eyes flashed with guilt as she remembered attacking Veggie while he was trying to rescue the birds and had allowed her owners to cage him along with Dash, Travis and Sunset. Just then an assistant called Tulio. Tulio glanced back at the assistant.

"Oh, I'm needed," he told Francisco and the others, "An injured bird is in need of my assistance. You'd better be off right now. The sooner we find these invaluable seven macaws especially the two glaucous macaws, the better."

"Okay, we'll get going right away," said Francisco. He then turned to Jack, Jill and Catina after Tulio and Linda left to help the assistant with an injured bird and said, "Take us to wherever you know the birds right away!"

Jack and Jill nodded and ran off. Catina followed. Without hesitation, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake ran off after the three.

"As soon as you find the missing birds," shouted Tulio as Francisco left, "Phone me okay?"

"I will," shouted Francisco just as he became too far to be within earshot. Tulio then returned to helping the injured bird, which was a toucanet. As the six ran after Jack, Jill and Catina, Susan began to fret.

"Oh, I hope we're not too late," she cried. Then the eight humans and calico disappeared down the road to Tulio's Aviary to look for Francisco's jeep.

At this moment, back in the smugglers' den, Frank was having a serious outburst.

"ESCAPED!?" he yelled at Vera, Luke and Marvin, "What do ya mean they've escaped!?"

The three accomplices just grumbled. Their faces and arms were covered in plasters and bandages. Around them, the cats including Brutus either wore scared or angry faces.

"But it's true, Frank," said Marvin, wincing from the pain of his wounds, "All the birds including the three Spix macaws, the two Lear's macaws and the two glaucous macaws have somehow managed to find a way to escape their cages and out of the storeroom."

"Now, Marvin," snapped Vera, "Birds ain't that smart. How could they possibly figure out how to unlock a cage?"

Marvin just shot her a glare while Frank threw his hands into the air and turned around so that his back was to the three accomplices. He then slammed a fist on the table, startling some cats and uttered a foul word under his breath.

"Great," he snarled, "Just (bleep)in' great. Now we've gotta catch those birds all over again including those seven invaluable macaws."

He then glared at Vera, Luke and Marvin and continued, "Do you know what time of year this is?"

"Carnival?" replied Luke.

"Yes," snapped Frank, "And with that annual event on the way, the main roads will be blocked off, which will make driving to the airport IMPOSSIBLE! I'm gonna have to ring the dealer and tell him that there's been a delay and believe me, he's surely not going to be impressed."

His accomplices and cats just looked back at Frank as he seethed. He then cooled down and said, "But that doesn't matter. We're going to just have to catch those birds again, including those seven valuable macaws and the Spix macaw family."

"Will we be doing that?" asked Luke.

"No," said Frank with narrowed eyes, "Our four-legged companions will."

The cats including Brutus all smiled delightfully at this while Vera shot Luke an annoyed glare.

"When are you gonna learn to think before you speak, you nitwit?" she growled. Luke just looked back at her with a frown. Then Marvin said, "Well, if our cats are going to be the ones to re-gather the birds, how are they going to do it without the aerial help of their cockatoo friend Nigel?"

Frank thought. After thinking, he said, "Well, when our team and Marcel's were one, Marcel's cockatoo Nigel used to help our cats search for birds from the sky and direct them to them."

He then looked at his three accomplices and continued, "But ever since we split up after dispute over profits, we had to adapt and train our cats to find birds without Nigel's help. It was difficult at first but our cats eventually got used to it."

He then called Brutus over. Brutus obediently walked forward and jumped onto the table next to Frank. Frank then gestured to the wickedly smiling grey cat and continued, "Brutus here is a very smart cat. He has become capable of searching for birds without the help of that cockatoo looking out for them from the skies. Since our cats are now able to catch birds very well even without an aerial helper, there's no reason why they can't do it again."

Frank then had a thought about Nigel and said, "By the way, I don't know what has happened to that cockatoo now and his owners have been jailed so..."

"But Frank," said Luke, "Rio is HUGE! It could take days for our cats to search for so many birds to bring back to us, especially those seven macaws And the Spix macaw family and with Carnival on the way..."

"That is why I'm going to send our cats out right now," said Frank, "Which is what I'm going to do."

He then turned to Brutus and began to give him orders.

"I would like you to take your cat group out into the city and split up," he said, "And find as many birds as you can. But I want those two Lear's macaws, three Spix macaws, two glaucous macaws, and that Spix macaw family of five found and caged for they are ultra valuable. Do you understand my orders?"

Brutus, with a wicked smile on his face, nodded to show that he understood and then dropped down from the table. He then went over to his group of cats and began to tell them Frank's orders. The other cats nodded and within moments, the entire mob of cats left the den via one of the windows with a large hole in it and went out into the streets to begin their search for the birds. On the way, they began to gather a lot of cages which they will need to cage the birds to bring back to their owners. While the cats did that, Frank began to think of a way to get to the airport unnoticed and before Carnival.

"Now all we need is some sort of transport vehicle for our loot," he said to his accomplices.

"Can't we sneak through Carnival?" asked Luke.

"I'm afraid we cannot Luke," said Frank, "It's too risky. There could be police personnel in every corner of the street. It's not worth the risk."

He then turned around so that his back was to his accomplices.

"We seriously need to think about this, you three," he said, "This is where I need your help."

Vera, Luke and Marvin looked at each other. This was going to be a tough challenge for the smugglers: getting to the airport unseen once their cats have captured as many birds as they could, including the seven valuable macaws and the Spix macaw family of five.

Back in the jungle, Jupiter and his group were awake. They were trying to figure out how they were going to get back to Tulio's Aviary or the jungle but they could not go anywhere for all the birds apart from Sunset, Travis and Zephyr were still grounded. Veggie and Dash were with the group. They had slept in an animal burrow covered with a large rock to prevent any potentially dangerous jungle animal from finding them. Dash was looking over the injuries of some of the macaws while Veggie was trying to detach the cuff of the chain attached to Pluto's leg with one of his claws. Pluto was lying on his back while Veggie held his ankle with one paw and fiddled with the cuff with a claw from his other paw. While he did that, Sunset examined Lapis Lazuli's scratch. Dash examined Neptune's flight muscles by pressing a paw along his wing and where his flight muscles were.

"Does it hurt?" the greyhound asked the hyacinth macaw.

"The flight muscles in my chest do," said Neptune. He then twisted his face as Dash gently pressed the area, causing pain to emit from the sprained area. Dash frowned.

"It's definitely a sprain," he said, "We're going to have to get you and the other injured macaws back to Tulio's Aviary for further examination since I'm not a bird doctor."

"But we cannot fly back there, dog," muttered Ultramarine nearby, "Far too many of us are grounded."

"And secondly, we'd rather not be back at Tulio's Aviary after what those wretched humans tried to put us through with having chicks," snarled Zephyr as he checked Brisa over and with that, he gave Venus a stink eye. Venus just looked back at him.

"They were only trying to save your species from going extinct," muttered Dash, "You Spix macaws are extremely rare and precariously close to the brink of extinction. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's species is even closer to that brink."

"What are you expecting us to do, dog?" muttered Lapis Lazuli, "Breed just in the name of conservation? We're not ready to become parents."

"Absolutely not," said Zephyr in agreement, "Especially after only meeting a few seconds ago."

Sapphire nodded in agreement and said, "Last of the species or not, we're not ready to have chicks at all."

"But you will in time," said Uranus nearby. Sapphire just shot him a glare and sighed. Dash just looked at Mercury and Venus and said, "I hope they eventually become ready to breed at some point because if you don't reproduce, you're going to go extinct, especially Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's species."

He then looked at Lapis Lazuli and Pluto as Veggie continued fiddling with the cuff on Pluto's ankle and sighed. Sunset continued looking at Lapis Lazuli's wing.

"Well at least it's not bleeding and it's not got infected which is good," said Sunset, "But we really need to get you back to Tulio's Aviary just in case."

"And then what, pinkie?" muttered Lapis Lazuli, "Face having to go through the stupid subject of breeding again?"

"As part of the conservation of your species," said Sunset.

"But I don't WANNA breed," snarled Lapis Lazuli.

"But Lapis," said Sunset, "You are the last female glaucous macaw alive. Pluto is the last male glaucous macaw. If you don't breed at some point, you're going to go extinct."

"Yeah, there aren't any other glaucous macaws besides you two without a doubt," said Veggie as he continued fiddling with the cuff on Pluto's ankle, "Ornithologists have searched and searched for more birds like you two but have found none."

"There was a tribe of glaucous macaws in the Amazon," said Lapis Lazuli, "But we were violently attacked by a huge swarm of flying furred non-bird creatures around four years after the fire. I was separated from them and was forced to flee for my life. Since that attack, I doubt that my tribe is still alive."

"What do you mean by flying furred non-bird creatures?" asked Veggie. Then he realised that what Lapis Lazuli was describing. There was only one other type of flying creature that did not have feathers but could still fly.

"Bats," he said, "Your tribe was attacked by bats?"

"Yes," said Lapis Lazuli, "Very large bats. They had faces like wolves and massive wingspans. They were larger than us glaucous macaws but smaller than hyacinth macaws."

She then glanced from Neptune and Venus nearby and said, "They were sort of half way between that male hyacinth macaw's height and Venus's height with a wingspan probably that hyacinth macaw's width."

"Good grief," said Sunset in shock.

"There are massive bats out there," said Veggie, "The flying fox in Australia is one such example. Sometimes the wingspan of a flying fox can reach a metre and a half."

"That's what those bats that attacked by tribe were," said Lapis Lazuli, "Flying foxes."

"Flying foxes in Brazil?" asked Veggie confused.

"I'd rather not talk about it," said Lapis Lazuli as she began to shudder, "It's just too frightening. Every time I think about those creeps, I end up with nightmares."

Veggie looked at the female glaucous macaw sympathetically before refocusing on the cuff around Pluto's ankle with his claw.

"How are you doing with it?" asked Pluto as Veggie began to try and undo the cuff.

"I think... I'm just about... getting there," said Veggie as he tried tugging at the mechanism locking the cuff around Pluto's ankle. Lapis Lazuli and Sunset watched as Veggie then began to pull at his claw harder and harder until Veggie's paw flew upward after a snap.

"Yeouch," cried Pluto with a jolt as Veggie's claw accidentally caught his flank. However, the cuff still remained around his ankle. When Veggie realised that he had scratched Pluto, he was filled with guilt.

"Oh, I'm deeply sorry, Pluto," he said. A bead of blood then trickled from Pluto's flank.

"That worked, cat (!)," said Lapis Lazuli sarcastically. Veggie then turned to Sunset and said, "Can you get a clean leaf please?"

Sunset nodded and took off. Veggie then saw that the cuff was still around Pluto's ankle.

"Well, I guess the idea of using my claw is out of the question," he said angrily and with disappointment, "I can't risk injuring you again."

Sunset then came back with a leaf and gave it to Veggie who then applied it to the little scratch he had accidentally inflicted on Pluto. Jupiter then came over.

"Did you manage to get that chain off of Pluto, Veggie?" he asked. Veggie, who had a leaf on Pluto's small scratch, shook his head with a sombre look on his face.

"It's just wedged on," he said, "I cannot unlock it at all."

Pluto sighed in despair as Veggie said this.

"What are we going to do?" he groaned.

"I don't know," said Jupiter as he looked at the chain, "We're going to have to get our human friends to undo this."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli just sighed disappointed.

"How are the other macaws doing?" asked Sunset.

"Well, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Ceres are fine," said Jupiter, "So is Neptune but his wing's still sprained. Zephyr, Brisa, Sapphire, Ruby, Chiquitita, Esmeralda, Orquidea, Ultramarine and Cobalto are doing fine as well but Zephyr and Brisa are very grumpy."

"I'm not surprised," said Pluto, "What those smugglers have put us through was disgusting."

He then looked down at his chained leg and said, "But we glaucous macaws I believe suffered the worst. Not to mention your tattered wing."

Jupiter sighed and looked at his tattered left wing.

"It's going to take weeks for those to grow back," he muttered, "Until then I'm grounded. We birds need our primaries to fly properly. Without them, we cannot fly at all."

"It must have been extremely painful to have those torn out," said Veggie.

"It was," said Jupiter, "It honestly felt like boiling water was being poured onto my wing."

He then looked at the scratch down his flank and continued, "Well, at least that has healed up."

"Definitely," said Veggie. Then Jupiter sighed and said, "I'm going to go for a walk and perhaps see if I can find any bird that lives around here who could help us. I'll be right back."

And with that, he left. As he walked past the other animals, he turned and saw Dash break up a bitter argument between Sapphire and Esmeralda.

"Look, stop quarrelling," snarled Dash, "Arguing like this isn't going to solve things."

"Look, I just can't believe that that Lear's snob had ended up in the same place as me, dog," snarled Esmeralda.

"Who are you calling a snob, greenie!?" snarled Sapphire and with that she attempted to lunge at Esmeralda but Dash stopped her. Jupiter rolled his eyes and continued on.

"When are those two gonna stop quarrelling?" he said under his breath, "It's honestly driving the rest of us around the trees."

He then left the group to walk on. As Jupiter was just a few metres away from the others, he began to look around. He was amazed by the trees but he did not focus on them. He wanted to get help from any bird that lived around here. However, he need not stray too far when he thought he heard singing in the distance. At this, Jupiter stopped dead and listened. At first, he thought he was hearing things but then he realised that the singing was very real. There was not just one voice, but several. Furthermore, the singing voices were getting louder. When they became loud enough, Jupiter was able to pick out meaningful words.

"What is love, if is not with you... I know when you're alone you feel it too?"

"In your arms is where I... um... I... don't know what the next lyric is, Rafael."

"Oh, you almost had it, Blu. It's 'in your arms is where I long to be'."

"Sorry, I just forgot. It's hard learning a song sometimes.

"Oh, Blu, you're good at memorising scientific facts but you can't remember lyrics of a song?"

Then the voices laughed. Jupiter raised an eyebrow intrigued. Then the voices grew louder until finally, three forms appeared around one of the trees. One was a black bird with a white front and large orange beak with a black tip. He had brown eyes and a cluster of feathers at the back of his head. The other two appeared to be macaws. One of the macaws had a stocky build with blue feathers, like those of Zephyr's. He had a blue-white patch around each eye bordered by a dark ring. His neck had a large tuft of bushy feathers and there were three more feathers at the back of his head. His eyes were a shade of brown like the first bird's, the toucan's. The other macaw had a slender build and smoother feathers. Her feathers were a light shade of blue, like Venus but slightly brighter. Her face mask was almost white and completely enclosed her beak and eyes. Her eyes were a shade of turquoise and her crest was a bushy ruffle with a flick to them. Both the macaws' beaks and feet were dark grey like Venus, Zephyr and Brisa's. Jupiter's eyes widened as he gazed at the two blue macaws. They looked just like Venus, Zephyr and Brisa.

'Venus is going to be shocked to see this,' he thought. The trio of birds, which were a toco toucan and two blue macaws, then descended toward the ground near where Jupiter was, unaware of his presence at first.

"Carla, Bia and Tiago certainly are becoming fast friends with your eighteen offspring, Rafael," said the female macaw, "I'm so glad that our three chicks are socialising even though we're the last known five Spix macaws alive."

"I'm so glad as well, Jewel," said the toucan, whom Jupiter presumed was called Rafael, "Me and my dear Eva's eighteen offspring are good company for your three little chicks, I can tell you. Eva's just taken them for a little sightseeing of our home..."

'Eighteen offspring?' thought Jupiter with his eyes wide, 'What a lot of babies.'

"Well, when our three chicks become old enough," said the male macaw, "I want to take them to a New Year's Celebration some time. However they're too young at the moment and Carla is so persistent in going to a party..."

"We'll let your three chicks go to a party when they become old enough, Blu," said the toucan with a smile. The two blue macaws also smiled. Jupiter then found the confidence to talk.

"Excuse me, you three," he said. At this, the two macaws and toucan looked up and almost jumped out of their skins upon seeing a large vermillion coloured scarlet macaw looking at them.

"Whoa, where did you spring up from, buddy?" asked the toucan named Rafael in shock.

"Sorry," said Jupiter, "I didn't mean to startle you. I heard you three talking in the distance."

He then looked from the toucan to the two blue macaws.

"And I assume you're Blu and Jewel, aren't you?" he asked with intrigue. The two blue macaws looked at each other.

"Why yes we are," said the female macaw.

"How did you know our names?" asked the male macaw.

"We heard about you and also saw your picture in an article with your three chicks," said Jupiter, "You're... Spix macaws, aren't you?"

"Why yes," said the male macaw named Blu, "We're apparently the last pair of Spix macaws alive with three chicks."

Jupiter smiled and said, "Well, you need not worry that you two are the last Spix macaws alive anymore. There are three more Spix macaw with us."

At this, Blu and the female macaw named Jewel looked at each other while Rafael's eyes widened in shock.

"Really?" asked Rafael in disbelief.

"Yes," said Jupiter, "One of them is a male named Zephyr and the other two are females named Brisa and Venus."

When Jewel heard Jupiter mention Zephyr and Brisa, her eyes widened in shock.

"Zephyr and Brisa!?" she gasped, "A-a-a-are they alive?"

"Why the shocked reaction?" asked Jupiter, "Is it because you're no longer the last Spix macaws alive?"

"No," said Jewel, "Zephyr and Brisa were two of my childhood friends. I thought they died in that fire that tore through the jungle when we were young. Do you know where they are?"

"Yes, they're right with us," said Jupiter.

"Us?" asked Blu, "What do you mean by 'us'? You're not alone?"

"Of course not," said Jupiter. Then he realised that he had not introduced himself.

"Oh, my apologies," he said, "I suppose introductions are a must based on courtesy. My name's Jupiter. I'm a scarlet macaw."

"Jupiter?" said Blu, "That's the largest planet in the solar system, isn't it?"

"It is," said Jupiter, "And I'm named after that planet. In fact, there are eight other macaws also named after planets and two dwarf planets. There's one called Mercury, he's a Lear's macaw..."

"Lear's macaw?" repeated Blu, "I've never seen one before. They're ultra rare birds, those macaws."

"Another is called Venus," said Jupiter, "She's a Spix macaw like Zephyr and Brisa; there is a green-winged macaw called Mars, a blue-and-gold macaw called Saturn, a great green macaw called Uranus, a hyacinth macaw called Neptune, a blue-throated macaw called Ceres and, you're not going to believe this but there is a glaucous macaw called Pluto."

"Glaucous macaw?" repeated Blu, "Those macaws are extinct, aren't they?"

"Oh, no," said Jupiter, "In fact there are two glaucous macaws with us. The team of ornithologists have found a female and we've only recently found out that Pluto is a glaucous macaw. Both of those birds are with us."

"Strange really," said Blu, "I always thought that the glaucous macaw is completely extinct."

Then Jewel saw Jupiter's battered state.

"What has happened to you?" she asked, "Especially to your flank, eye and left wing?"

Jupiter, at this, looked at his wing and scratch on his belly. His eye was still bruised but it was less black than before. However, he felt reluctant to tell the trio about the second group of smugglers, but he had to.

"Me and my group have just escaped from a group of smugglers last night," he said, "However, a lot of us have either been injured or have had our wing feathers damaged. I'm one of those victims and one of their cats had torn feathers out of my left wing."

When Jupiter mentioned smugglers, Blu, Jewel and Rafael's eyes widened and beaks opened as the three reacted in utter shock and horror.

"S-smugglers!?" shouted Blu incredulously.

"B-but they've been imprisoned!" shouted Jewel.

"How can there be group of smugglers when they've been caught?" asked Rafael.

"Well, this must be another group of smugglers as we've been told that the first lot had a cockatoo that assisted them," explained Jupiter, "They're assisted by cats, however,"

"Cats?" asked Blu.

"Oh, quite often tacky creatures, cats," snarled Jewel, "Have... any of the others in your group been injured by those animals?"

"Yes," said Jupiter, "Some of the macaws have sprained wings, especially the hyacinth macaws, the female glaucous macaw has a scratch on her wing and she's chained to Pluto..."

"Chained?" repeated Rafael. Blu and Jewel then looked at each other in horror.

"Why, when we were kidnapped by the first group of smugglers before we became mates and had Carla, Bia and Tiago," said Jewel, "Blu and I had been chained together as well."

"Were you?" asked Jupiter.

"We were," said Blu, "I didn't fly back then and believe me, it was a struggle to get around."

"And for me to fly," added Jewel.

"Well, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, which is the name of the female glaucous macaw, are suffering the same restrictions with the chain," said Jupiter, "Lapis is injured and cannot fly at all, meaning that Pluto is also grounded. We're in trouble here and are desperate to get back to our owners and Tulio's Aviary so that those of us that had been injured can receive treatment. Do any of you three know how to help?"

"Well, first, we would like to meet your group first, Jupiter," said Rafael, "And then we'll see what we can do."

At this, Jupiter was filled with joy.

"Oh, thank you," he shouted, "Come on, let's meet the others."

And with that, he walked off. Blu, Jewel and Rafael followed.

"I hope our three chicks hadn't gone too far with Eva and their friends, Blu," said Jewel in a low voice.

"Don't worry, my precious Jewel," said Blu with an assured smile, "They're in good company."

Jewel didn't look assured however. Then the pair of Spix macaws and Rafael followed Jupiter in the direction of the latter's group.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16- meeting Blu and Jewel part two, and Rafael**

Back with the others, Neptune had tried breaking the chain holding Lapis Lazuli and Pluto together. Before Neptune offered to bite through the chain, the group had tried smashing the chain with a rock but had given up on that. As Neptune continued biting as hard as he could onto the chain with his enormous beak, to his dismay, he realised that not even his powerful beak could cut through it.

"Tch, this chain's tough as a rock, honestly," he muttered after spitting the chain out, "I can't even snap it in two."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli sighed in despair at this, as did Veggie, Dash and Ceres nearby who sighed and shook their heads.

"I suppose if I keep chewing on it," suggested Neptune, "I should be able to weaken it for it to snap."

"No, don't bother, Neptune," said Pluto, "You'd chip your beak if you do."

"Well that chain's going to have to come off sooner or later, Pluto," said Neptune with a frown, "We're not going to have you both walking around while chained together all the time."

"Join the club," snapped Lapis Lazuli and with that she glared at the cuff around her right ankle.

"I'm so glad those smugglers haven't chained Mercury, Sapphire, Venus, Zephyr and Brisa together as well," said Ceres as she looked at the three Spix macaws and two Lear's macaws nearby, "Otherwise things would have been much more difficult especially during that hasty escape we had to make from the smugglers last night."

"Absolutely," said Veggie, "It was very thoughtful of Dash to allow Pluto and Lapis Lazuli onto his back so that he could carry them to safety, otherwise that psycho cat Brutus would have possibly killed them."

"I hope never to meet that cat again," said Pluto as the memory of the look on that psychotic cat's face during the chase sent shivers down his spine. He was clearly traumatised from the ordeal last night.

"You ought not to meet those vicious flying foxes in the Amazon," said Lapis Lazuli with a frown, "They were especially aggressive when they drove my tribe out. Mind you that cat's aggression didn't half remind me of that savage patriarch of the flying fox colony when he led the attack."

"Competition with birds maybe?" asked Veggie.

"Not just that, cat," said Lapis Lazuli, "Those bats detest us birds and apparently see us as vermin. Because of that, the flying fox colony has gained infamy among the bird tribes and clans and has become their sworn enemies. They just drive out birds from a patch of land and then take it over. They're as bad as the loggers and their destruction of the forest, only they steal the land from the driven out bird flocks sometimes, but even they suffer at the clutches of intrusive humans. Why those bats hate us, I don't know."

Pluto, Veggie and Ceres glared back at her in shock. If those bats really were vicious towards birds, then they're not worth meeting and getting involved with. Then Ceres moved onto something else.

"What's taking Jupiter so long?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Veggie, "Maybe because he cannot fly with his damaged wing, looking for a hollow with birds living in it close to the ground is taking him a while."

As he said this, Saturn walked in.

"You know, I was going to ask that same question," he said, "I just hope he hasn't gone too far."

Suddenly, there was a rustling of some leaves. Saturn flinched as he heard the sound.

"What was that?" he asked. Veggie then began to enter defensive mode. He arched his back and his back hairs stood up and he stood protectively across Pluto and Lapis Lazuli who were also startled. Ceres also dived behind Pluto, frightened.

"I don't know," growled Veggie in a low voice, "But if it's any of those smugglers' cats, I'm not going to hesitate to fiercely apply my teeth and claws to defend you birds, especially these two glaucous macaws here."

"You sure are keen on protecting us potential meals, aren't you, cat?" muttered Lapis Lazuli. Veggie just shot her a slight glare before scanning the surroundings. Nearby, the other animals had also gone into alert mode. Chiquitita was hiding behind Ruby while Sapphire huddled close to Zephyr and Brisa. Cobalto, Esmeralda, Ultramarine and Orquidea were also quivering with their feathers raised. Dash, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Travis and Sunset were also alerted, with the latter two with their crests fully raised. Then another rustling sound was heard as something shook the leaves of another bush. All eyes turned in the source's direction but saw no-one. Something was watching them but the group could not see the spy. Mars then began to complain.

"Oh, I HATE it when we're being watched but cannot see the watcher," he muttered. He had his wings out ready to pounce on whom or whatever was hiding in case they leaped out onto the group. Behind the group, a black, white and orange blur shot past but the group's faces were opposite to the blur's location. Mercury and Venus then began to cower behind Neptune, clearly frightened while Neptune looked around with a scowl on his face.

"If whoever is watching us ARE those smugglers' cats," he snarled, "I will not hesitate to attack them with my beak and talons!"

"I hope those cats haven't found us, though," muttered Uranus nearby, "We've had enough trouble from that bunch and their rotten owners for one day as it is."

"We'll have to be careful with that savage grey cat though," said Dash, "He nearly mauled Jupiter during my and his escape out of the den."

"At least those rotten smugglers received a good scratching and biting from him," growled Travis without a hint of sympathy for the smugglers, "They deserved a good hiding from one of us for abusing us and treating us and those other birds like dirt. It's what you get when you abuse an animal."

"God's creatures weren't meant to be abused, anyway," said Mars nearby.

"Absolutely," said Dash. The group continued scanning their surroundings warily when a third rustling of another patch of leaves was heard. All eyes turned in this direction. Chiquitita began to mutter.

"I don't like this, Ruby," she murmured timidly, "It is though we're being stalked by some predator."

"I know," said Ruby. Chiquitita then began to feel the fear boil within her.

"R-R-R-Ruby," she muttered in a broken voice as she began to walk timidly away from her towards Zephyr and Brisa as they cowered together, "I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-seriously s-s-s-scared..."

"Now this is no time to allow your fear to reach boiling point," snapped Ruby impatiently, "We must get prepared to defend ourselves."

Chiquitita then crept towards Zephyr and hid behind him, her red feathers on end.

"Get away from me and my sister, you red-feathered brat," snarled Zephyr distastefully and with that, he kicked Chiquitita in the stomach and knocked her away. In a brief flash of anger punching through the sheet of fear, Chiquitita lunged at Zephyr and gave him a mighty shove, sending him knocking into Brisa.

"Don't you kick me, you Spix NUMSKULL!" she snarled and with that she prepared to leap at Zephyr to attack him but Orquidea stopped her by grabbing onto her wings and restraining her.

"Stop it right now, Chiquitita," shouted the female blue-and-gold macaw, "Your feud with Zephyr and Brisa isn't helping everyone else."

"That's right," said Ultramarine, "We're scared enough as it is. We don't need any of these outbursts when there are unseen spies around us."

Esmeralda and Cobalto also looked on with agreeing eyes while Sapphire just looked at Zephyr. Brisa then glared at Chiquitita hostilely with her face seething with anger. However, the sound of another patch of leaves rustling snapped the two out of their glare and both glanced in the direction of the sound but found nothing. The air around the group then began to get more and tenser. The macaws, two cockatoos, greyhound and tabby cat then inched closer together, Veggie proactively spreading is arched body across Lapis Lazuli and Pluto and looking around while Zephyr protected Brisa. Saturn then managed to find some courage.

"Alright, buster," he growled, "This has gone far enough. You're making everyone scared. Show yourself this minute!"

However, he got no answer. The group continued looking around as the hidden spies continued watching them. The air grew tenser and tenser for several more seconds until... four cute little toucans appeared from a bush of leaves and chirped. They looked at each other and fluttered over to the group. Charmed by their cuteness, most of the animals went, "Awwwwww."

The four baby toucans, which had black backs, a reddish white torso and orange beaks with a black tip then split up and went to specific members of the group. One went up to Saturn and asked to be held, another went up to Veggie and nuzzled against his left front leg much to his surprise, and the other two went over to Esmeralda, Cobalto and Ultramarine. Saturn cradled the first toucan while Veggie petted the second. Ultramarine was snuggling the third toucan while Esmeralda was holding the fourth and allowing Ruby, Cobalto and Chiquitita to pet it. However, she spat at Sapphire to prevent her from approaching, much to her disgust. Zephyr and Brisa just looked on with scowls on their faces as Ruby and Chiquitita continued to pet the toucan held by Ultramarine. Orquidea then petted the toucan while Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Uranus, Neptune, Mercury, Venus, Ceres and Mars petted the toucan that was nuzzling against Veggie. Sunset and Travis also petted the toucan held by Saturn.

"Can I hold him?" asked Travis. Saturn complied and passed the toucan over to the sulfur-crested cockatoo. Travis then cradled the toucan in his wings while Sunset petted it again.

"He's so cute," crooned Sunset. Saturn smiled. However the group was in for a nasty shock. While Travis continued holding the toucan, the little bird then made an evil grin and hooked its beak onto one of Travis's chest feathers. It then tore out a white feather and repeated this process another several times. Travis yelped in pain and held the toucan at a distance but then the toucan bit his wing, masking him drop it. Saturn and Sunset looked on in shock as the toucan then jumped onto Travis's back and began to ride him like a horse.

"Hey, stop this at ONCE!" shouted Saturn and with that, he pulled the toucan off of Travis's back. Now it was Saturn's turn to have his feathers torn out as the toucan hooked its beak onto Saturn's wing feathers and tugged, masking the blue-and-gold macaw yell in pain. Veggie looked on in shock and before he knew it, the toucan jumped onto his back and began to pull at his ears. The tabby cat yelled in pain and was suddenly covered by a blanket of colourful feathers as Mercury, Venus, Mars, Ceres, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Neptune and Uranus all jumped onto him to try and get the toucan off his back with Dash joining in. However, this was a bad move as Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's chain wrapped around the legs of some of them, making them stumble and fall. Mars fell backward as his talons snagged in the chain while Venus's legs got tangled up in it. Dash also got one of his back legs caught in the chain and ended up stumbling as it tightened around his leg, flattening Uranus and Neptune in the fall. Nearby, the other two toucans then started their assault on the other macaws. The toucan held by Ultramarine then jumped out of her wings and began jumping on her back and then onto Chiquititia's back, then Ruby's, Orquidea's, then back to Ruby's, Chiquitita's, and then Ultramarine's. The other toucan then began biting Cobalto and Esmeralda's wings, making them yelp in pain and back away. Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire only looked on in surprise when suddenly, three more toucans which resembled the flour first ones but larger, then appeared and jumped onto the backs of the three macaws! Taken by surprise, Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire began to struggle to get these toucans off their backs but the toucans continued mischievously throttling them. Soon, chaos erupted as all 22 animals were either knocked about, had their feathers or fur torn out, or were jumped on like trampolines by these seven toucans. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's chain then wrapped around their legs and entangled Venus and Veggie and the four were sent tumbling into Ultramarine, Esmeralda and Sapphire. The lot fell in a heap on the floor moments before Chiquitita and Travis tripped over Esmeralda and landed onto Veggie. The other animals were also brought down. Then one of the toucans yelled to something in the air, "NOOOOOOW!"

At this, the 22 animals all looked up and yelled in shock as an army of birds swooped down on them. This little flock was made up of eleven more toucans and three small blue parrots. Then within moments the air erupted with macaw and cockatoo screeches with an occasional cat screech from Veggie and barks from Dash as the whole lot of toucans (eighteen in total) and three little blue parrots then bit them and tore feathers or fur out of them. Then four of the toucans picked up a long thin green tendril and returned to the fray.

"Here, Bia, Tiago, grab the other end of this," shouted one of the toucans. Two of the blue birds did so and together, the four toucans and blue birds shot around the 22 animals and began to entangle them in the tendril while the other toucans and blue parrot continued their assault on them. However, the group's cries haven't gone unheard of. Jupiter, Rafael, Blu and Jewel were walking back in the direction of the group when they heard shouting and screeching.

"Gasp, SATURN AND THE OTHERS," screeched the large male scarlet macaw and with that, he took off, attempting to fly and forgetting his damaged left wing. Jupiter tried taking off but could not get airborne. Jupiter then fell flat on his face. Rafael, Blu and Jewel rushed in.

"I can see what you mean about not being able to fly from that tattered wing," said Blu. Then Rafael's head popped up at the sounds of mischievous laughter amongst the sea of cries of pain.

"Oh, don't tell me my kids are..." he shouted and with that he rocketed off. Jewel also followed.

"And don't tell me that Carla, Bia and Tiago are attacking those strangers with them!" she screeched. Blu also shot off after the other two while Jupiter simply got up and ran. When the colourful cloud of writhing animals and attacking toucans finally came into view, Rafael accelerated towards the commotion.

"Hey, kids," he called, "Stop attacking those strangers at ONCE!"

When the baby toucans and their larger siblings saw Rafael, they immediately stopped their attack and swamped Rafael like fans would a celebrity.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," cried the toucans. Rafael struggled to restrain them as they smothered him.

"How many times have I told you about attacking strangers, Manuela, Sofia, Marco, Carlos, Rita, Miguel and the rest of you? (One of them pokes him in the eye with a wing), ouch, oh, Olivia, stop that at ONCE!"

While Rafael struggled with the baby toucans, Blu and Jewel appeared and were met by the three baby parrots.

"Mom, Dad, we got 'em!" laughed one of the blue parrots pointing to the colourful pile of macaws, cat, greyhound and cockatoos. Blu and Jewel, however, were not impressed.

"Carla, Bia, Tiago," scowled Jewel, "Behave yourselves this minute!"

"But it was fun," said another baby parrot.

"Carla, listen to your mother!" shouted Blu. Jewel then eyed Blu with a sour look.

"What have I told you about leaving our three chicks with Rafael and Eva's rambunctious offspring, Blu?" she growled, "Why didn't you listen to my warnings that they were a bad influence on our kids!?"

Blu just stood there and said nothing. From the colourful pile of animals, Sunset, whose red, salmon pink and yellow crest feathers looked kinked and out of place, wearily looked up but found herself bound to Dash's side by a green tendril. Then suddenly, a vermillion, turquoise and yellow blur ran in past Blu and Jewel as they continued scolding the three baby parrots, which were their kids. Jupiter made a beeline for the pile of colourful animals.

"Are you lot alright?" he asked. Saturn then struggled from under the pile and said, "What does it look like to you, Jupiter?"

Sunset then eyed Rafael as he continued struggling to restrain the eighteen toucans. Based on the toucan kids' calling him 'Daddy', she assumed that Rafael was their father.

"Talk about lack of discipline, Big Nose," she yelled. Jupiter then examined the tendril binding the pile of 22 animals. The whole group looked a right state. All of them had tattered feathers, and Veggie and Dash's fur was messy. Sunset was tied onto Dash's body while Dash was paralysed by the tendril binding his legs. Neptune and Uranus were tied together under Dash while Veggie was tied to Chiquitita, Travis and Venus. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were tied together in the chain to Veggie's legs and also by more green tendril while Ultramarine, Esmeralda and Sapphire were tied together by more green tendril. Ruby was tied to Zephyr, Brisa, Mercury, Orquidea and Cobalto while Ceres and Mars were tied together by a massive piece of more green tendril. Poor Saturn was the most unfortunate of the lot. He was literally underneath the entire pile. While it may be a comical sight, the 22 animals were not at all amused. Jupiter then sighed and went over to help the group sort themselves out.

"This is exactly like when we got seriously tangled up in Susan and Lucy's grandmother's wool when we were younger and when Dash and Veggie were only a puppy and kitten and we were taken to her house," he said, "And we went mad with one of her balls of wool and ended up in a right mess. Come on, let's use your beaks."

And with that, he began to bite the thick green threads connecting Ceres and Mars to the rest of the pile to separate them. Ceres and Mars were separated from the others and as soon as they were by themselves, they began to bite through the green thread binding them. Jupiter then helped to bite through the thread binding the rest of the group up. As he did that, Blu said, "We're really sorry about this, folks, we didn't expect our and Rafael's kids to get up to mischief."

"Where was Eva anyway?" asked Rafael with a frown as his kids began playing. They had calmed down after being rebuked by Rafael but they were still quite mischievous. "She was supposed to have been keeping an eye on our kids while we took a break."

"Don't tell me that she must have got distracted by something has she?" muttered Blu, "Since she should be very good at keeping a strict eye on our kids."

Rafael just shrugged his shoulders. Then his kids began to swamp him again and climb all over him. Mars and Ceres, after freeing themselves from the green tendrils which turned out to be a vine by biting through strips of it binding them, got up and glared at the toucans.

"Talk about literally being burdened," muttered Mars.

"How many kids have you got?" asked Ceres. Rafael managed to struggle some of his kids off his face and look at the male green-winged macaw and female blue-throated macaw.

"Eighteen of them," he said, "OW!"

One of his kids poked him in the face again.

"Rita, stop that," shouted Rafael as the little toucan sniggered and jumped off of him.

"Wha- EIGHTEEN!?" screeched Mars incredulously.

"No wonder you're so overwhelmed," added Ceres in shock. Then Mercury and Venus appeared from the pile of animals after cutting themselves free with their beaks and with Jupiter's help and joined Mars and Ceres. Venus's eyes caught Blu and Jewel and their three chicks who just stood by looking ashamed of themselves.

"You five," said Venus with an amazed smile, "Are you the Spix family we saw in the article back in London?"

"Article?" asked Blu.

"Tulio and his team posted an article about you and your species," said Mars, "We read about it with our owners back in London which is where we came from."

"Oh yeah, Tulio and his team have written a lot about our species lately," said Blu, "But we haven't heard of the most recent one that was published."

Jewel then examined Venus as she continued staring at her and her family.

"So you must be another Spix macaw, am I right?" asked Jewel.

"We've only just found out that I am indeed one," said Venus, "But initially we thought I, Mercury and Pluto were merely types of hyacinth macaws despite only being half the size of one but after our owner Susan sent Tulio a picture of us, he confirmed that we are not and that we are rare species, especially Pluto."

As she finished this sentence, a male voice shouted, "JEWEL!"

At this, Venus, Mars, Ceres and Mercury whipped round just in time to see a blue blur jump out of the pile of animals still in the process of sorting themselves out and leap over to Jewel. A cerulean blur followed him.

"Zephyr, Brisa," shouted Jewel and as soon as the three macaws met, they hugged each other and began crying. Blu looked on in surprise. Mars smiled.

"Well, looks like someone's glad to see each other," he said.

"We thought you perished with the other Spix macaws in that fire," cried Zephyr.

"Oh no, I was separated from our tribe as well," sobbed Jewel. The three remained locked in their embrace. Then Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire emerged from the pile of tangled animals after being freed. Sapphire smiled at Jewel.

"You," she said in amazement. Jewel broke the embrace with Zephyr and Brisa and looked at Sapphire.

"Hi, Sapphire," she said, her eyes still shiny from the emotional tears of her reunion with two of her childhood friends. Their meeting was not as emotional for Sapphire had only met Jewel probably once when they were chicks. Then Venus saw Carla, Bia and Tiago.

"Who are those three chicks?" she asked, "And that male macaw behind you?"

Jewel, at this, gestured Blu and the chicks over and began to introduce them.

"This is Blu, my mate," she said, "I'm Jewel and these are our children, Carla, our older daughter, Bia our middle chick and younger daughter, and our only son Tiago."

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Ceres, Lapis Lazuli, Pluto and Sapphire smiled at the three little chicks, especially Venus for she had never seen baby Spix macaws in her life at all. All three chicks looked identical in appearance and build. All three had rounded heads and small bodies with stubby wings and short tails. However, based on the feathers on their wings, it looked like that they had just learned to fly. All three also had large blue-white patches around their eyes, small dark grey beaks and tiny feet. However despite their similarities, the three siblings looked like they did have some differing features. Carla had cerulean feathers and large green eyes; Bia was dark cyan with brown eyes but when she had been very young, her feathers had been a dark blue but as she aged, her feathers brightened. Tiago, however was dark blue like Blu and had brown eyes like his sister and father. Because they looked almost alike, the chicks looked like triplets. However, it was possible that their appearances would diverge drastically as they grew up, but at the moment, none of the chicks looked much like Blu or Jewel apart from their eyes and feathers. Carla, Bia and Tiago shyly raised their wings as if to say 'hi'. Zephyr and Brisa smiled at the three chicks as well.

"Eduardo, your father would have been impressed to see your three chicks, Jewel," said Zephyr as he admired the three chicks, "I'm so proud that you've found a mate and had a family."

He then looked at Blu with a smile. Blu just smiled shyly back at Zephyr. However, Zephyr was currently unaware that like Venus, Blu had a domesticated background. Brisa also smiled at Blu. Then Blu turned his attention to Pluto and Lapis Lazuli.

"So those two are the glaucous macaws, am I right?" he asked.

"We are, yes," said Pluto, "We're the last male and female glaucous macaws alive."

"Yes, we are," said Lapis Lazuli. Jewel then saw something silvery and shiny between the two glaucous macaws. When she saw what it was, she made a scowl on her face. Blu also became horrified when he saw the chain holding Pluto and Lapis Lazuli together.

"Oh, I see what that scarlet macaw friend of yours means," said Jewel in a small voice. Blu then walked over to the chain and examined it. Just then the other animals behind the group had sorted themselves out. As they brushed the remains of the vine off of them, Jupiter came forward and saw Blu examining the chain holding the two glaucous macaws together.

"We've got to get this thing off of you," said Blu sympathetically as he held the chain in one talon. He was even more saddened to see the scratch on Lapis Lazuli's chest and right wing. Then Veggie said, "We've tried everything to get that thing off the glaucous macaws. I've tried using a claw but ended up scratching Pluto by accident, we've tried bashing it with a rock but that didn't work, and Neptune's tried biting on it but it wouldn't snap..."

When Blu and Jewel saw Veggie, they immediately jumped back and spread their wings protectively across Carla, Bia and Tiago while Rafael pushed his kids back.

"Whoa, whoa, it's alright," shouted Veggie, "I'm bird friendly."

Then before an argument could start, Jupiter said, "This is Veggie, he's NOT one of the smugglers' cats. Don't worry, he's vegetarian and hasn't killed a bird, fish or a mouse in his life."

"I hate the taste of bird meat, anyway," said Veggie with a disgusted face.

"But cats are often a hazard to us birds," said Blu, "I'm surprised you're even friend with one."

"While that may be true," said Jupiter, "But Veggie has never harmed a bird in his life."

"Honestly, I'm harmless," said Veggie. Seeing that Veggie was not going to hurt them but still wary of him, Blu and Jewel slowly lowered their guards. Rafael did the same.

"This is something we've never heard of before," said Blu, "Cats are often natural enemies of birds as well as their predators."

"Absolutely," said Rafael in agreement.

"Cats and birds would have got on perfectly before Adam sinned against God back in the Garden of Eden since predation didn't exist back then," said Veggie. At this, Blu and Jewel were confused.

"Sorry?" asked Blu.

"Oh, it's a teaching in Christianity," said Jupiter, "Our owners are Christians and we've just picked up their beliefs."

"But predators have always existed way before the dinosaurs appeared millions of years ago," said Blu, "How can you not get predation at all in some point in the history of the earth?"

"We don't agree with the theory of evolution," said Veggie, "It just doesn't make any sense to us."

"Well, that's a surprise," said Blu with a slight frown, "Especially if you lot are into science and biology."

Just then, Dash, Travis, Sunset, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune came round and they introduced themselves to Blu and Jewel and admired their chicks as well. Ultramarine, Cobalto, Esmeralda and Orquidea also hugged Jewel, greeted Blu and admired their chicks. However, two macaws were not at all impressed to see Jewel at all. After Ruby and Chiquitita brushed off the tendrils of the vine from their wings, they walked towards the others.

"Boy, if I were a mother or a relative to those toucan chicks," muttered Ruby, "I'd have them across my lap and spanking their backsides."

Her eyes then caught Jewel. At this, Ruby was filled with disgust and utter hatred.

"Well it isn't that bratty daughter of Old Eddie," she snarled, her red feathers bushed out and her yellow eyes burning with a bitter enmity as they were fixed on Jewel. Chiquitita also glared at Jewel hostilely. Jewel, at this, turned and looked at Ruby. When her turquoise eyes focussed on the female scarlet macaw, they widened in shock.

"RUBY!?" she yelled incredulously. The others looked on in shock.

"Oh, no, not again," said Dash with a paw on his face. Jupiter also rolled his eyes.

"You didn't think Chiquitita and I'd have survived the fire as well, did you?" asked Ruby nastily. She then walked toward Jewel and took on an attacking pose: she spread her wings out and crouched.

"I have a score to settle with you after what you did to me all those years ago, Spix macaw minx," growled Ruby threateningly. At this, Jewel spread her wings and made a furious scowl.

"I haven't forgotten that incident when you and your friends pelted me with fruit until I looked so much of a mess that I was laughed at by my own friends apart from Chiquitita," growled Ruby, "And for that, I promised myself that if we ever meet again, I'd challenge you to a fight!"

As she said this, Zephyr, his feathers raised and on end, stood by Jewel with his wings spread protectively across her. Brisa also got into a threatening pose.

"You dare hurt Eduardo's daughter and my friend, scarlet macaw birdbrain and I'll ATTACK!" snarled Zephyr hostilely. Jewel then made a smirk.

"I vividly remember humiliating you in front of your friends, Ruby," she said mockingly with a giggle, "It wasn't half hilarious, especially after you insulted my great-aunt Mimi and my other friends. I'll never forgive you for what you've said about them, especially my own family."

As she said this, Uranus asked Ultramarine, "What's up with Jewel and Ruby?"

"Those two are bitter enemies," said Ultramarine in a low voice, "They got into a fight once and one time Jewel and her friends pelted Ruby with fruit and made her look an absolute mess much to the laughter of their friends..."

"My sister Pearl would have torn your feathers out had she came across you," shouted Ruby angrily, at this, Jupiter, sensing that a fight was about to start, stepped in to interrupt but the two macaws continued glaring at each other.

"You know something, Daddy wouldn't hesitate to kill you had I told him what you said about his sister and some of his tribe members," snarled Jewel. Ruby then prepared to leap at Jewel but Neptune ran in and grabbed her to prevent her from lunging at the Spix macaw.

"RUBY, JEWEL," Jupiter yelled at the top of his voice, "YOU STOP THIS AT ONCE!"

Jewel and Ruby didn't listen and continued to faceoff. Ruby struggled fiercely in Neptune's grasp when Zephyr began to take his turn on insulting her.

"You red macaws have ALWAYS been nothing but trouble ever since we met," snarled Zephyr as Jupiter put his large wings in his way to stop him from attacking Ruby.

"YEAH!" shouted Brisa.

"I think you've got that backwards, you blue macaw brats," retorted Ruby as she continued to struggle in Neptune's grasp. Chiquitita then prepared to attack but greyhound paws hooked onto her wings. Dash had grabbed her to restrain her. Chiquitita then began to writhe in Dash's grasp but Dash refused to let go. Seeing that his protests were getting nowhere and that the feuding Spix macaws wouldn't stop their faceoff, he tried a harsher tactic.

"For goodness sake, will YOU SNAP OUT OF IT!?" yelled Jupiter as loud as he could. Jewel reluctantly did so and tore her eyes of Ruby.

"If you DARE attack me again like you did all those years ago, brat..." Ruby growled. Jewel just spat onto the floor at Ruby.

"I'll not hesitate to use my claws and beak, red-feathered wretch," she snarled. Ruby was about to act but Jupiter roared, "SILENCE!"

His voice was so loud that it echoed throughout the entire area, even sending some birds into takeoff. Jewel and Ruby calmed down and looked at Jupiter.

"Don't you realise that fighting isn't going to get us anywhere?" said the male scarlet macaw, "We've been through enough already, particularly those that have been injured at the hands of those rough and tough smugglers."

He indicated to Brisa who was still clutching her sprained wing. Chiquitita also stopped struggling in Dash's grasp as Jupiter continued.

"There is a second group of smugglers at work and they've got cats," Jupiter explained, "And those cats will be out looking for us! Many of us are grounded and cannot fly so we must be prepared for any action should we come across any of those pests."

Turning to Blu and then to Jewel, Jupiter continued, "And I feel I must warn you two."

"And what is that?" asked Blu, Carla, Bia and Tiago peered out from behind their father's back in curiosity.

"I believe you and your chicks might be on those smugglers' kidnap list," said Jupiter. At this, Blu and Jewel were filled with shock and anger and looked at Jupiter in disbelief.

"You're kidding me," she snarled. Ruby and Chiquitita also looked up in shock.

"Well, since you are the only breeding pair of Spix macaws," said Jupiter, "complete with a brood of three chicks, I believe those smugglers will be hot on your tails."

"A breeding pair of an ultra rare species of macaw is worth a fortune in the eyes of those money obsessed thieves," said Veggie, "In fact, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli over there would be probably twice as expensive as the most luxurious car ever made as they are the last pair of glaucous macaws alive."

"That's right," said Jupiter. He then looked at Jewel and said, "And secondly, don't you realise what bad example you're setting your chicks with your attitude towards that scarlet macaw?"

Jewel just scowled at Jupiter but realised that he was right.

"Alright, you and Ruby have got into a serious dispute all those years ago," said Jupiter, "But you must learn to forgive each other and move on. Holding grudges against one another, even after so many years, isn't going to solve anything. It would only get worse and worse until things finally explode."

"Furthermore, we must work together through this," put in Saturn, "If we've got those pesky cats on our tail, then we must be prepared to defend each other, whether we're friends or enemies. We must stand together."

As he said this, Rafael walked in while Ruby and Jewel calmed down. However, they still had their bitter eyes on each other. Jupiter turned to Rafael.

"And this is where we need your help, Rafael, if you're able to give it," said the scarlet macaw.

"Okay, how do you want us to help you?" asked Rafael with a smile.

"We need to get back to Tulio's Aviary so that we can be looked after, reunited with our owners and receive treatment," said Jupiter, "Also we need to do something about the chain holding Pluto and Lapis Lazuli together. Do you have any solutions?"

And with that, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto appeared and showed Rafael the chain. Rafael then smiled while Blu looked on in wonder.

"I do," he said, "I know who would be able to get that chain off of them..."

At this, Blu looked at Rafael, knowing who he was referring to.

"Please, Rafael, not Luiz," he said, "You remember what happened last time when Jewel and I were chained together."

"Yes," said Jewel, "We were almost killed by that spinny blade thing."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, however, were curious.

"Who's Luiz?" asked Pluto.

"He's a bulldog and a friend of ours," said Rafael, "And an expert in mechanics. Don't worry; he'll know how to get rid of that chain..."

Pluto and Lapis Lazuli looked at each other and then back at Rafael. Then Sapphire walked in and said, "Well if that dog friend of yours is able to get rid of that chain, then why don't we go there?"

Rafael was about to reply when suddenly, a female voice shouted, "Ah, kids, there you are!"

At this, the eighteen toucan kids turned and saw a female toucan fly in. She had black feathers like Rafael but her underside was white with a red tint. Her large beak was lime green with a magenta tip and her eyelids were a vibrant shade of magenta. Around her eyes was a green mark, like she was wearing eye shadow. Her crest was a slightly messy set of feathers behind her head. When the baby toucans saw the female toucan make a beeline for them, they cried and rushed towards Rafael where they hid behind him. Rafael, however, walked over to the female toucan and said, "Ah, Eva, there you are."

Blu and Jewel also went over to the female toucan named Eva as she touched down, looks of annoyance on their faces.

"You were supposed to have been watching over our kids," said Jewel, "But when we saw them, they were attacking that lot over there and tying them up in a vine."

She indicated to Jupiter and his group. Jupiter also looked annoyed.

"Sorry, but I got distracted by a group of toucanet mothers," said Eva, "And got so engrossed in talking with them I didn't realise that our kids had wandered off. By the time we had finished, I've noticed that they were missing."

"Missing?" repeated Jupiter annoyed, "They were attacking my friends and tying them up!"

"Not to mention biting us and tearing feathers or hair out of us," added Saturn. Nearby, Sapphire, Esmeralda, Orquidea, Cobalto, Ultramarine, Ruby, Chiquitita, Zephyr and Brisa just looked on and said nothing. Sunset then looked at Eva and said, "And I assume you're the mother of those toucan chicks, am I right?"

Rafael turned round and looked at the Major Mitchell's cockatoo and said, "For your information, red and yellow crest, yes she is. Eva is also my mate."

"Then you both ought to learn how to discipline your chi- MEEEAAAAOOOW!" screeched Veggie as he felt intense pain explode from his back left leg. He looked down and saw one of the toucan chicks with a wide grin on its beak full of fur. The chick then ran off behind Rafael and Eva for cover just as Mercury ran in. The male Lear's macaw then eyed Rafael and said "Goodness me. Has that chick always pulled feathers or fur out of other birds or mammals?"

"I don't know but we're having him tested," said Rafael. Blu and Jewel just rolled their eyes as Veggie, while still clutching his back left leg with a paw, shouted, "Well, discipline him, because if you allow him to continue going round and ripping feathers out of other birds, it's going to become a bad habit and it needs to stop."

He then made a pained face as the area still hurt. Ruby just glared at Veggie and Jewel and just looked away, sulking. Then Rafael said, "Oh, what was I going to do? Oh, yes."

He then gestured to the group of animals and said, "Eva my love, I've got to take these animals down to Rio. They need my help especially that couple over there."

He indicated to Pluto and Lapis Lazuli with their chain.

"We're not a couple," said Pluto but Rafael didn't hear him. At this, Eva's face morphed into a scowl.

"Oh, don't tell me you're gonna sneak off to Carnival again, are you?" she muttered, "Because you know how well I can see through your excuses."

Rafael then began to get all romantic and sauntered towards his beloved keel-billed toucan mate.

"Aaaahhh, Carnival: the most romantic... sweet... lovely place where I met the most beautiful bird in the world..." he crooned. He then held Eva in his wings and looked at her in a loving way. Jupiter and his group looked on and had different reactions. Venus was enamoured by the romantic toucan couple but Zephyr just huffed in disgust while Brisa just glared at the two toucans. Ruby just looked away sulkily. Mercury also smiled.

"They're twitterpatted," he crooned but Sapphire gave him a hard jab with the elbow of her wing.

"Ow," said Mercury and he grasped the area where Sapphire had elbowed him. Mars then began to mutter.

"This is making me feel nauseated," he groaned and he looked away. Chiquitita just looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"I couldn't agree more to that, pet," she muttered. Jupiter was enamoured but Saturn thought that Rafael and Eva's romantic moment was a bit sloppy. Orquidea just looked at him in surprise. Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune and Ultramarine were also a bit repulsed by the scene while Ceres and Cobalto just looked on and smiled. Pluto wasn't sure on what to think but Lapis Lazuli looked at him.

"Don't you dare think that we'll be doing that, pal," she said in a low voice. Pluto just looked at her. Nearby, Sunset, Dash, Travis and Veggie just watched the scene and smiled.

"Guys, look at Blu and Jewel," said Travis. The cat, greyhound and Major Mitchell's cockatoo turned and saw Jewel as she leaned against Blu lovingly. Two of their chicks, Carla and Bia looked on with an 'Aaaawww' look on their faces but Tiago made puking sounds and gestures much to Veggie's amusement. Zephyr and Brisa, however, looked at Blu and Jewel with slight disgust. Rafael then began to sing a song to Eva.

"Your turn, my sweet mango," he crooned. Eva then began to sing but instead of a lovely voice, she literally screamed in an out-of-tune voice. The shrieks were so deafening that the audience literally flinched and covered their ears. Then Eva let loose an ear piercing scream. The pitch made most of the audience shudder at the resonation of the awful sound.

"Oh, your voice is indeed beautiful, just like you, my Eva," crooned Rafael. Veggie, whose ears were ringing from the shriek, looked on in shock.

"Beautiful?" he snapped.

"More like out of tune," muttered Dash as his ears also rang. The other animals including Blu and Jewel also held their ringing ears.

"She seriously needs some singing lessons," muttered Mercury.

"Is that how Rafael fell in love with Eva in the first place?" asked Venus. Rafael looked at her.

"She was love at first sight when we met at Carnival, miss," he said. Venus looked on while Zephyr gave her a glare. Then Rafael planted a huge kiss on Eva. Now THAT was sloppy. Rafael and Eva's kids saw this and covered their faces.

"EEEEEWWWW!" they all said in unison.

"Yuck," spat Dash with a repulsed face. Veggie, Travis and Sunset also made repulsed faces, with Veggie hanging his tongue out during his reaction.

"Looks like their kids don't like the look of them two kissing either," said Mars.

"Neither do Blu and Jewel's chicks," said Saturn. At this, Mars turned and looked at Carla, Bia and Tiago. They were hiding behind their parents, also repulsed by the kissing Rafael and Eva. Then after kissing and saying goodbye to Eva, Rafael left and walked towards Jupiter's group. Eva then eyed the kids with one of her stern looks. The eighteen kids knowing that they were in trouble, cried, "Uh-oh!" and made a break for it. Eva then gave chase.

"Get back here, Manuela, Sofia, Rita, the rest of you, she shouted, "You're in big trouble for wandering off!"

Rafael smiled as his mate pursued their offspring.

"Well, let's go before Eva changes her mind," he said.

"Will she be alright with all those kids?" asked Jupiter.

"Ah, she'll be fine," said Rafael, "She's managed very well with our offspring in my absence."

"Are you sure," said Saturn as he looked back at Eva with concern, "Because with almost twenty kids to take care of by herself, she's going to be overwhelmed."

"You ought to get yourselves a babysitter," said Orquidea, "Don't get me wrong but I would like chicks too someday but if we end up with a big brood, say of six chicks, a babysitter would be appropriate."

"Definitely," said Esmeralda.

"But with eighteen chicks," added Cobalto, "A babysitter is definitely a must."

He then eyed Rafael closely and said, "Especially if some of your rambunctious babies are going to get up to mischief."

"Look, amigo, I'll discipline my chicks when I'm ready," snapped Rafael annoyed.

"What's 'amigo'?" asked Venus.

"It's Spanish for 'friend', you domesticated brat," he said, much to Venus's annoyance. As the group walked away, Blu and Jewel came up to Rafael, their three chicks close behind.

"We're coming with you as well," said Blu. Jupiter and his group turned and looked at the Spix macaw family.

"What?" snapped Jupiter, "But you'd put yourselves in danger of those smugglers and their cats."

"Absolutely," said Mars, "If those wretched smugglers find you, they won't..."

"We are aware of the risk, Mars," said Jewel, "But we've grounded our three chicks for a month for attacking you lot."

When Carla, Bia and Tiago heard this, they looked down sadly.

"Good," said Saturn, "At least that'll teach them a lesson not to one, attack strangers and two, get involved with an unsuitable group."

"Unsuitable group?" repeated Rafael in confusion.

"Honestly, your chicks need disciplining," said Saturn with a frown, "And if I were you, I'd suggest you'd do it as soon as possible."

"Yeah, like, when you return to your family after helping us or have Eva do it while she's in charge," said Uranus. Rafael sighed and said, "Alright, I'll do so when I get back to my family but first, let's get out of here. If we're going to go to Rio, we'll have to be quick."

And with that, he put his wings around Jupiter and Saturn's shoulders and began to walk them away with the others, including Blu, Jewel and their chicks, following. As they left, they heard Eva telling the eighteen young toucans off. Sunset looked back and smiled to see that Eva was applying her parenting skills. However, Rafael ran in and said, "Oh, don't stare at my chicks, red-and-yellow crest, they sense fear."

"My name's Sunset," said Sunset as Rafael walked her away.

"Okay, Sunset then," said Rafael.

"Seriously, I'm not sure if your mate will be able to cope with all those offspring," said Sunset, "It makes me wonder how you both manage with that many chicks running around."

"Oh, she's fine," said Rafael, "Come on, everyone else's waiting for you."

And with that, he and Sunset followed the rest of the group.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17- shocked revelations and familiarities**

Back in the city of Rio, people were still going about their daily business. Many were walking back and forth on the footpaths going to different destinations while more were driving about in their vehicles. It truly was busy in this city. However, besides the business of the people, there was also commotion from some animals. In one part of the city in a quiet alley, far from any place riddled with humans, a crashing sound was heard, followed by some panicked squawks. Then a group of colourful birds flapped madly down the alleyway. They were a mixture of parakeets, conures and small birds and they were being chased by something. Their chasers were four-legged furry creatures armed with cages. Among the group of creatures was Otis, the black and white cat. As they chased the birds down the alley, some of the cats ran along the rooftops prepared to pounce onto the parakeets in case they attempted to fly away. The birds continued flying down the alleyway until they were confronted with a wall. The cats running along the rooftops then jumped onto the wall ready to jump down onto the birds. Seeing that they were trapped, the parakeets, small birds and conures looked around and then turned to face their pursuers. Otis was at the front, an evil grin adorning his face.

"I'm afraid you've nowhere to go, birdies," he crooned mockingly, "You're gonna be caged."

The parakeets and conures then huddled together and shivered as the group closed in on them. The little birds, among them a very timid green bird named Tiny then huddled against, under or behind their larger companions, eyes filled with fear fixed on the cats and their bodies trembling as though they were cold. At the back of the cat group, the cats armed with cages got prepared for action when Otis nodded to the group of cats sat along the wall's top. Then without hesitation, the cats jumped down from the wall and pounced onto the parrots, little birds and conures. A fight then erupted between the birds and cats as Otis's group began restraining the birds and then stuffing them into cages. One sun conure trued escaping by flying away but one of the cats, a brown and black one, grabbed its tail and tossed it into one of the cages. The little birds were also stuffed into cages like marbles. Then after a few more minutes of chaos, the air subsided and Otis's group had successfully captured the group of birds. However, the birds were struggling in their cages threatening to bite and claw the cats but the cats restrained them with harsh commands and threats, making the birds shut up. Then Otis sauntered in front of the group of caged birds, an evil grin on his face full of smug.

"Well done, my comrades on your teamwork and cunning tactics," he said to his friends who held the cages, "However, we still need to retrieve the seven valuable macaws and catch that Spix macaw family."

He then eyed the birds and began to ask them the question.

"Can any of you tell us where the family of five Spix macaws are?" asked Otis in a stern voice. None of the frightened parrots or small birds gave an answer, however. Then Tiny managed to struggle through the cage bars and fly away. The cats holding onto her cage then attempted to grab her but she dodged them.

"Cats," she squeaked, "I HATE cats... AAHHH!"

She screeched as Otis pounced onto her to stop her from escaping. Otis then held Tiny up in one paw and eyed her with a threatening look on his face.

"Where do you think you're goin', little bird?" he asked in a mean voice. Tiny just shuddered and whimpered. From their cages, the other birds looked on, terrified. Otis then squeezed the little green bird in his paw and made her eyes bulge out like grapes.

"You know something," said Otis nastily, "If I had the choice, I'd eat you for a snack. If I did eat you, would you taste like chicken... or fish?"

Tiny whimpered and gagged as Otis squeezed her again.

"Oh, oh, please don't eat me, puddy tat," she squeaked, "I-I-I-I'm too young to be eaten..."

Otis then changed his facial expression from a look of scorn to a look of threat.

"If you will co-operate and do as we tell you, little bird," he said, "I will not let it happen. But if you don't comply..." Otis's voice became more threatening "...I will be havin' one little green bird imprisoned... in my stomach. Is THAT CLEAR!?"

Tiny nodded timidly. Satisfied that the little green bird would comply, Otis tossed her to one of the cats who caught her and stuffed her into the cage with three green parakeets, quickly opening and closing the door in the process to stop any birds from escaping. Tiny then timidly hid behind one of the parakeets. Otis then sighed and moved on.

"Well, since none of those birds will answer us, you lot," he said, "We'll have to check the other two subgroups who have gone to another part of the city to see if they have caught those seven birds and the Spix macaw family. Moggy."

He nodded to a female brown cat with black stripes. The cat named Moggy nodded and came forward with a mobile phone. During their quest into the city, the smugglers' cats had stolen some mobile phones while owners of the phones weren't looking, learned their numbers and then carried them away before splitting. Otis took the phone from Moggy's paw and began to ring Brutus.

Elsewhere in the city near Copacabana Beach, Brutus and his group of cats were carrying some more caged birds to a hidden spot where no human would find them.

"Well done, my cats," said Brutus to the others as they carried the caged birds to the spot, "You've done a brilliant job."

The other cats accepted his praise. However, it had not been an easy task catching the birds they have caught. Some of the birds, especially some macaws and conures, had fought back and some of the cats had received some scratches and bites. But under the vicious eye of Brutus, the macaws and conures had been forced to comply. As Brutus looked at the caged birds with a smug smile on his face, one of the cats, a male brown and white cat, came to him with another mobile phone.

"Brutus," said the cat, "Otis is on the phone."

"Oh, is he, Paws?" asked Brutus. The cat named Paws then handed the phone to Brutus, who took it and began to converse with Otis.

"Hi, Otis," said Brutus, "How is your subgroup doing?"

"Oh, fine thanks," said Otis, "We've just managed to catch a group of conures, parakeets and some small birds in an alley. I've asked them if they know about the Spix macaw family but none of them would answer. That is the reason why I am calling you. Have you caught that family of five Spix macaws or any of the seven valuable birds yet?"

"Oh no, we haven't," said Brutus, "We're still looking for them. But make sure you keep a close eye out for them. They could be anywhere in the city or even in the jungles just outside it."

"I will," said Otis, "We just need to haul our captured birds to a secret place first. I'll let you go and then phone you later for updates or if we've found those valuable macaws including the Spix macaw family, okay?"

"Okay," said Brutus. He then heard Paws call him, which prompted him to look at the group of cats as they struggled with three green-winged macaws (not Mars or Chiquitita).

"I'd better go anyway," said Brutus, "Some of the green-winged macaws are fighting back and they need my help. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye. I'll ring Claude's group to see if they have found any sign of the Spix macaw family. See you." said Otis and both cats hung up. Otis then called his group together and said, "Right, let's get out of here before any human spots us."

The cats nodded and carried off the cages with their captured birds in them.

Back with Jupiter and company, the group continued walking through the jungle and talking. Carla, Bia and Tiago were sulking after being rebuked and disciplined by Blu and Jewel for joining Rafael and Eva's rambunctious offspring and participating in their serious mischief and had been grounded for a month. As the group walked along, Mercury was telling Rafael about his and his group's life back in London in the United Kingdom.

"Before our owner Susan sent off a picture of us to Tulio back in London," he said, "We thought that I, Venus and Pluto were three varieties of small hyacinth macaws. It wasn't until Tulio got back to Susan that we actually aren't hyacinth macaws, but three species of ultra rare macaws and had to be taken to Rio as soon as possible to be paired up with Sapphire, Zephyr and Lapis Lazuli."

"Really?" said Rafael, "The news that you three are of three rare species of macaw must have been a shock to you..."

"It was," said Venus, "We had no idea that we'd be parts of such rare species, much less the last of the species in Pluto's case."

Pluto just looked at Venus and sighed. He continued walking in sync with Lapis Lazuli due to the chain. Blu looked at the chain as it trailed and flicked along with the glaucous macaws' leg movements.

"You know that's exactly what the first group of smugglers did to me and Jewel when I couldn't fly back then," he said. Jupiter looked at him in surprise.

"You never flew at all before you met Jewel?" he asked.

"I never did learn to fly throughout my entire chick-hood and when I reached fifteen years," said Blu, "In fact I never flew the whole time I was Linda's companion back in Minnesota."

Jupiter and then Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Ceres, Sunset, Travis, Veggie and Dash all shot him a shocked glare. However, Blu didn't notice Zephyr, Brisa, Ruby, Chiquitita, Esmeralda, Cobalto, Ultramarine, Orquidea, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire gawk at him as he said this. Zephyr then made a foul scowl on his face and then looked at Jewel.

"Don't tell me Jewel has fallen in love with a human's pet, as he?" he asked the others in a low voice so that Blu didn't hear.

"If Eduardo found that out," added Brisa in an equally low voice, "He's going to go berserk."

Ruby and Chiquitita then looked at Jewel with a mocking glare.

"Looks like Old Eddie's bratty daughter has fallen in love with a cute little pet," crooned Ruby mockingly. She then eyed Zephyr as he continued glaring at Jewel and said, "Too bad your little friend's somehow got involved with humans, bluey."

Chiquitita and Ruby then tittered spitefully. Zephyr and Brisa continued fixing their eyes full of disbelief and distain upon Jewel as she walked alongside Blu. However, none of Susan and company's thirteen pets noticed.

"But every pet bird I've come across knew how to fly," said Veggie, "Including my eleven bird friends."

"How did you get around?" asked Sunset.

"Linda had hoops hung around some of the rooms," said Blu, "And I made use of toy cars and the stair banister to get around."

"We never did any of that when we lived in London, the UK before coming here," said Venus, "Though Mars sometimes did skate about on some plates and one point, a skateboard but he still flew."

"Being grounded in a human's home might not be a problem if you're with a loving owner," said Uranus, to which Ruby made a scowl of disgust at, "But living in the wild, flying is a compulsory skill."

"That's right," said Jewel in agreement, "Especially since we live in the treetops and not on the ground."

"So how did you learn how to fly, Blu?" asked Neptune as Ultramarine looked on behind him with a slight frown. Blu, not noticing that some of the macaws, the wild-born ones, were looking at him in disgust that he was a pet (or animal companion as he preferred to be called, as he found the word 'pet' distasteful and offensive), proudly smiled and put a wing around Jewel.

"I took my first ever flight while we were being smuggled out Rio," he said, "It was with the first group of smugglers, and Nigel was a part of them. After we had let the other birds escape, Nigel pounced on us and pinned me down by the neck."

"And when I jumped on his back to caw him to get him off of Blku," said Jewel angrily, "That white feathered vulture threw me into the side of the plane, causing a cage to fall on my wing and break it."

Mercury and some of the others flinched at the pain Jewel must have suffered when that happened. Zephyr and Brisa also flinched.

"Fractured wings," said Veggie, "That's one of the common injuries smuggled birds sometimes face when being handled by those uncaring humans."

"And then after Blu had dealt with Nigel by sending him into a propeller of the plane, killing him," continued Jewel, "I slipped out of the plane and plummeted, unable to fly due to my broken wing."

"That's where I came in," said Blu, "Though I was afraid to fly, I put aside my fears, jumped out and grabbed onto Jewel. Then she kissed me, amazed at my bravery, and I just simply opened my wings and flew for the first time in my life."

"Wow, that's incredible," said Mercury, "Wish I could risk my life for a girl I love like that."

"And very brave," said Dash. Zephyr and Brisa, however, did not show even the slightest hint of amazement and kept their disgusted eyes on Blu while Ruby and Chiquitita laughed slightly in mockery.

"At least Blu finally knows how to fly now," said Jupiter.

"What an amazing love story," said Travis, "I would love to know more."

He then made a scowl and said, "Mind you, I still find it hard to believe that this Nigel character is a sulfur-crested cockatoo like me and yet he detested birds like you."

"He was a downright slime ball, Travis," snarled Jewel, "If he were here now, I'd mercilessly kill him for breaking my wing."

She then calmed down and said, "But I'm glad he's dead. Blu really did show him what for on that plane."

Blu smiled proudly.

"That would have been unwise, Jewel," said Ceres, "If you ever attempt revenge on an enemy, especially if they are stronger than you, you'd end up seriously hurt."

"Absolutely," said Neptune in agreement. He rubbed his wing muscle area as he felt it radiate pain.

"Did you know that the ability to fly is from the beat of your heart?" asked Rafael.

"No, how?" asked Pluto confused.

"We just instinctively do it," said Saturn.

"I explained that to Blu when I was trying to get him to fly," said Rafael, "That flying is not in the head..." he pointed to his head... "But in the heart..." he pointed to his chest.

"Well, it all sounds confusing but it's just what most bird species do," said Dash.

"Now, I feel it's time to move on to the second group of smugglers which I feel you should know about, especially you, Blu and Jewel," said Veggie. Blu and Jewel looked at him.

"Why should we know about that group of smugglers?" asked Blu as he picked up Carla as she, Bia and Tiago walked beside him.

"Well, the second group is made up of a boy, a girl, and four adults," explained Dash, "Three men and a woman. Their assistants are cats, one of which is extremely violent and aggressive."

"He's a Russian grey cat," said Travis, "And presumably one of the most vicious cats we have ever met."

"Yeah, you should have seen how terrifying he was when we were fleeing the smugglers," said Saturn, "He looked like something out of a horror movie with that look on his face, puffed out fur and exposed claws."

"He's definitely a foe you should avoid; much less provoke," said Veggie, "Jupiter was fortunate to escape that savage cat's wrath when he and Dash were forced to attack the smugglers while we escaped."

As he said this, Jupiter showed the Spix macaw couple and toco toucan his damaged wing and then the scratch down his flank.

"I was clawing the faces and arms of those smugglers when he attacked me," explained the scarlet macaw, "And he proved more than a match. I was forced to escape after he scratched and kicked me, but he managed to get a hold of my left wing and tear feathers out of it which is why my left wing is missing some primaries and one or two secondaries now, and why I cannot fly."

Blu, Jewel and Rafael looked at Jupiter in shock. Then Jewel made a scowl.

"Well, if those furballs are going to go after us, I'm going to defend myself and my family to the death," she snarled.

"I would not want to meet that savage grey cat," said Blu.

"Neither would I," said Rafael.

"Well, you'd better watch out, Blu and Jewel," said Veggie seriously, "Because like I've said before, I've a feeling that those smugglers and their cats are after you and your chicks since your family would be worth an awful lot of money."

"What's 'money'?" asked Lapis Lazuli. Veggie turned to her and said, "It's things humans use to trade things with. Normally, it's in the form of paper slips and metallic discs they call notes and coins respectively, but beyond that it gets complicated, but that's what money is."

He then sighed and said, "But why some humans want so much of those things, even I cannot make much sense of. Looking at them, they're just bits of paper and metal, really."

"Was Nigel terrifying and powerful?" asked Mars. Rafael pointed to Jupiter and then to Neptune.

"I'd say he's as strong as your hulking scarlet macaw friend capable of beating Neptune in a fight," he said. He then looked at Travis and said, "He was a sulfur-crested cockatoo like Travis but a lot more muscular."

Travis, at this, flexed a wing and glared at his small biceps before looking back at Rafael. Nearby, Venus and Mercury began to have flashbacks of a white form gazing at them sadistically.

"But that was not the only terrifying trait Nigel had," said Rafael, "His attitude and temper were worse."

"Hah, he doesn't scare me, regardless of how strong he was," snarled Jewel.

"Not to mention his face when he looks at the despairing birds," said Rafael.

"That grey cat was like that when he gazed at the caged birds in the smugglers' den," said Uranus, "It seems that the two had something in common."

"It sounds like it," said Blu, "But I don't see how Nigel could have any association with those cats."

"Well, whether or not that cockatoo had any association with those cats I can't say but what's more important is those smugglers and their cats are after you and your family, Blu," said Veggie, "Because of you being the only Spix macaw family alive."

"I am NOT going to ALLOW those creeps to catch us," shouted Jewel, her wing protectively spread across Carla, Bia and Tiago and a worried Blu, "Because if they DARE threaten my family, I'll be using my beak and claws full force."

"You should have seen Jupiter when he did just that with the smugglers while we escaped last," said Dash, "He literally went at them like a brute."

"No one treats my friends or any other animal like dirt and gets away with it," said Jupiter angrily, "Especially if they're going to injure birds or chain them together in Pluto or Lapis Lazuli's case, but I doubt that the injuries I had given them will have deterred them."

"Absolutely not," said Veggie, "Especially with the most sought-after macaws on the loose."

And with that he eyed Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Zephyr, Brisa, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire. Jewel then noticed Zephyr and Brisa glare at her with disgusted scowls on their faces.

"Why are you two looking at me like that?" she asked. Zephyr then glared at Blu, dislike glittering in his eyes. Ruby and Chiquitita smiled.

"Looks like a bratty Spix macaw is in trouble with her own friends," crooned Ruby mockingly. Jewel looked at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Then Zephyr strode towards her and Blu and looked Blu in the face.

"Don't tell me this macaw is a pet, is he?" he snarled at Jewel. At this, Blu became enraged as the comment stung him like a bee.

"What did you just call me!?" he shouted. The entire group stopped.

"Not another argument," muttered Dash with a paw on his forehead. Venus then tried to intervene.

"Zephyr, please," she protested but Zephyr shot her a piercing glare.

"Do you want me to attack you like I did back in that miserable so-called habitat, lady?" he snarled. Venus looked back at her in shock before her face morphed into a scowl.

"What's upset you this time, jungle boy?" she retorted, her maya blue feathers raised. Zephyr's face morphed into a look of surprise at Venus's boldness. He then eyed Jewel.

"Eduardo would not have been impressed," he spat, "You know what he's like with any bird with ties to humans in ANY way, especially pets."

At this, Jewel became cross.

"Are you questioning me on MY choice of a mate!?" she growled. The others looked on in surprise, especially Esmeralda, Sapphire, Ultramarine and Cobalto. Lapis Lazuli looked on in distaste while Ruby and Chiquitita chuckled; obviously enjoying Zephyr and Brisa's upset over Jewel choosing a macaw who had been owned by a human as a mate. Zephyr then slapped a wing against his forehead and continued, "I just can't believe that our FRIEND has chosen a PET as a mate!"

"I am NOT a pet, but a human companion," shouted Blu, "And don't you call me that! I find it offensive."

Zephyr shot him a sarcastic glare and said, "Oh, sorry to hurt your feelings... pet."

"Yeah, pathetic excuse for a macaw," added Brisa with a mocking and condescending smile on her beak. The others, especially Venus just looked on as the drama intensified. Blu's eyes flashed with hurt. That did it. Jewel lost her temper with Zephyr and Brisa.

"How DARE you insult my mate like THAT!" she screeched, "Especially after all that he had done for me, risking his life to save me when I was falling toward the ocean with a broken wing when he didn't fly."

Zephyr just released a snide laugh of mockery while Brisa looked on with a scowl.

"Whether that macaw (referring to Blu) risked his life to save you or not, he should not have become your mate because he is a PET!" shouted she. This comment was enough to lacerate Jewel's feelings like a macaw talon, and she began to cry. Sniffling, she rocketed off into the trees, sobbing, much to the laughter of Ruby and Chiquitita but shock of the others. Zephyr then looked at Blu spitefully.

"As for you, pet, why don't you do yourself a favour and… perhaps leave Jewel?" he asked, "After all, she has no place in her life for a lousy pet for a mate like you."

Blu just looked at the male Spix macaw with brown eyes burning with fury while Venus made an angry scowl on her face, obviously disgusted at Zephyr's attitude towards the couple.

"You know, if you're really her friends, you two, you wouldn't have said those mean things to her," said Blu boldly, which made Zephyr and Brisa's beaks widen into a mocking smile as if to say, 'Oooooh, brave macaw."

Blu then turned to Rafael and said, "Rafy, look after Carla, Bia and Tiago while I go and comfort Jewel."

And with that, he took off, calling Jewel's name. Zephyr and Brisa just looked on spitefully.

"He should leave Jewel," said Zephyr in a low voice, "After all, macaws that are raised by humans are too useless to be the mates of macaws who are born in the wild."

This finally made Venus snap as that comment offended her. With a volcanic look on her face, like the volcanoes and harsh atmosphere on her namesake planet, she stomped towards Zephyr and looked him in the eye.

"Your attitude sickens me, wild boy," she growled in a low voice before finally barging past Zephyr, knocking him back, and storming off, deeply offended. Zephyr and Brisa looked on in shock.

"What a foul-tempered girl," said Brisa. Then Jupiter walked in, an angry look on his face.

"Well, I'm not surprised, Zephyr," he said, "What you said to Jewel, particularly about her mate Blu and how he should leave Jewel's side was totally inappropriate and unacceptable."

He then looked up and saw Blu comfort a sobbing Jewel by wrapping his wing around her back on a branch in a nearby tree and frowned. Zephyr followed his gaze.

"Well, Jewel shouldn't have picked a pet to be her mate, then, shouldn't she?" he said without a care in the world. Jupiter shot him a glare.

"Is that how you treat a friend whom you thought perished for so many years after a fiery incident that tore you from your friends and family?" he growled. Zephyr looked at him appalled. Behind him, Chiquitita and Ruby continued smiling scornfully while the others looked on with expressionless faces, unsure of what to feel. However, a lot of the macaws including Esmeralda, Sapphire and Orquidea did feel sympathy for Jewel and Blu. Veggie, Travis, Dash and Sunset also felt that for the macaw couple in the tree. Zephyr and Brisa continued looking at Jupiter silently.

"Then you should learn to accept her choice of mate then," growled Jupiter in a harsher voice that he almost shouted, "Just because Blu was owned by a human doesn't mean that he's any less inferior and the same applies to Venus since she was raised by humans as well. And based on the story Blu told us on how he saved Jewel from certain death, he deserves respect, not scorn."

The scarlet macaw then looked at Venus who had her back to the group and continued, "And one day, since you have no other female macaw who isn't your close relative to pair up with other than Venus over there, you're going to have to get prepared to accept her background as a domestic macaw raised by humans. It's not her fault that she ended up under Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake and Drake's care and neither is it the rest of us."

"And I'm sure that would apply to Blu being under Linda's ownership as well," added Saturn. Zephyr just looked at Jupiter and Saturn.

"Well, Jewel may have the intention of paring up with a pet but I certainly don't," he arrogantly snapped, "Certainly not a female that is owned by humans."

And with that, he walked away, followed by Brisa who shot Jupiter and Saturn a dirty glare. Jupiter and Saturn looked on, appalled by the two macaws' arrogance when Uranus came in, also equally appalled.

"With an attitude like that," he said to the scarlet and the blue-and-gold macaw, "There's no way he's going to pair up with Venus, and the chances of the ornithologists getting a second breeding pair of Spix macaws, I'm afraid, are going to be slim."

"Definitely," said Saturn. Jupiter then sighed and nodded in agreement.

"At least Zephyr and Brisa aren't Old Eddie's bratty daughter's friends anymore," chortled Ruby spitefully nearby.

"Yeah," added Chiquitita equally spitefully. Jupiter shot the female scarlet macaw and tiny green-winged macaw a glare.

"Your attitude isn't helping either, you two," he spat irritably. Ruby and Chiquitita's laughter then abruptly ended as they looked at the hulking male scarlet macaw in surprise. Then Jupiter walked off to comfort Venus. Lapis Lazuli then tipped her head to one side as she was slightly confused.

"I don't get it," she said, "If it isn't a macaw's fault that he or she ends up with humans, then why are Zephyr and Brisa, or for that matter, the rest of us wild born macaws being so condescending towards those that had been raised by humans?"

"No idea," said Esmeralda, "But our tribes have had terrible experiences with humans, I can tell you."

"Especially the Spix and the Lear's macaws," said Orquidea, "And based on what we've heard about the glaucous macaws, them too."

"My tribe? They've never liked the sight of humans or anything to do with them at all," said Lapis Lazuli, "We used to live in a large patch of trees that was suitable for us but one day, all that had been taken away by loggers and our tribe was forced to relocate. Furthermore, poachers frequently trapped and snatched individuals from us. My first-cousin, once-removed was among those taken by poachers."

"And then you had those vicious flying foxes to deal with?" asked Veggie. Lapis Lazuli nodded. Rafael then stepped in and began to ponder over whether he could help Zephyr and Venus.

"Well if Venus is the only female macaw without a mate yet," he said, "and who's not closely related to Zephyr, then they could do with a little help."

"How?" asked Dash.

"What difference would it make?" asked Mars, "Zephyr hates domesticated macaws and wild macaws being paired up with them. I don't think Zephyr would like..."

"Huh, the ornithologists actually thought Zephyr and Brisa themselves were a breeding pair when they caught them until they realised that they were brother and sister," said Ceres in a low voice so that Zephyr and Brisa didn't hear them.

"Then that would make Venus Juliet to Zephyr's Romeo," said Rafael, "Since there are no other Spix macaws besides them two, Brisa, and of course Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, then that means that Venus is the only choice of gal for Zephyr."

As he said this, Carla, Bia and Tiago looked up at Rafael curiously.

"Choice of gal, Uncle Rafael?" asked Carla curiously. Rafael looked down at the three baby Spix chicks.

"I'll tell you three what I mean when you're older," he said with a smile, "You're too young at the moment."

"Yeah, it's a... erm... a topic for grownups, not for baby chicks," said Veggie. Carla, Bia and Tiago then sighed. Rafael then turned to Mercury, Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto and said, "As for you four, the same applies. Since Mercury and Sapphire are the only pair of Lear's macaws we now know, and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli being the only pair of glaucous macaws in existence..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," interrupted Mercury, "If you're think you're going to help us fall in love, toucan, you've got another thing coming."

"Absolutely," said Pluto, "You can't force love to develop. You have to leave it to develop by itself."

"That's right," muttered Lapis Lazuli, "No wonder those bird studiers or whatever they're called, were silly and annoying in trying to get us to have chicks when we're not ready."

"Yeah, but you're the only female glaucous macaw in existence, Lapis," said Rafael, "And Pluto is the only male..."

"Look, last of the species or not, we're not ready," said Lapis Lazuli annoyed, "And don't get any idea on how to make us fall in love because you can't force it."

"Okay, have it your way," said Rafael cheerfully. Ultramarine shook her head slightly irritated at the toucan's cheery attitude. Then Mercury gazed into the distance just as Blu and Jewel returned to the group.

"How's Jewel?" asked Veggie.

"Fine but still very upset," said Blu. He then glanced at Zephyr and Brisa in the distance. They looked sulky.

"Looks like Jewel is going to have to stay away from those two," said Esmeralda with a frown, "Don't get me wrong. I despise humans and to a degree, pets..."

"I am NOT a pet!" snapped Blu, making Esmeralda flinch.

"Okay, macaws owned by humans then," she muttered, irritated at Blu's attitude. "I loathe humans and to a degree, animals owned by humans too but, if Jewel decides that her mate would be a macaw under a human's ownership then we should accept it."

"That's right," said Orquidea. Ruby, however, glared at Orquidea and Esmeralda and then at Jewel and Blu and sighed sulkily. Then Veggie saw Mercury gaze into the distance at something.

"Mercury?" asked the tabby cat curiously, "What is it?"

The group followed his gaze and saw Venus walk towards the spot Mercury was gazing at, a similar look of wonder also adorning her face. Jupiter was also curious and looked at his group. He gestured his wings in an 'I don't know gesture' and shrugged. Then Mercury followed Venus, prompting the others to walk after them. Zephyr and Brisa, turned and saw the look of wonder on Mercury's face. They, driven by curiosity, were compelled to follow. Putting aside their sulky attitude, the two did just that. Mercury then examined the trees and looked around. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia, Tiago and Rafael looked on in confusion as Mercury then looked at Venus.

"This place seems familiar," said Venus. At this, the others in the group looked at each other.

"Is it?" asked Mars. Mercury then looked back at the group and said, "We know this place."

The male Lear's macaw and female pigtailed Spix macaw then pattered along a clearing. The others followed. As Mercury and Venus looked around, flashbacks began appearing in their minds. They were only brief, but in the flashbacks, feathered comets and sounds of panicked squawking swamped the images. Then something great disturbed Mercury as he looked in one direction. As his eyes landed on a specific spot, he thought he heard a macaw screech, "No, no, NOOOO!" in his mind. At this, he flinched. Venus then looked up into the sky and then flinched as she had images of two birds fighting in the sky flash in her mind. At first they were blurry and garbled but then she focussed on what colours those birds were. One was white and the other was dark blue, like Blu and Zephyr. As Venus pictured the scene in her mind, she began to whimper and breathe rapidly. Cobalto looked on in wonder.

"Looks like those two have been through something very disturbing," he said to the others. Venus then pictured furry blurs carrying off helpless birds and stuffing them into metallic things with bars and two slabs. She also had images of herself being carried off by one of them and being tossed into one of the metallic things, but the images of the white bird and the blue bird fighting in the sky had a more dramatic effect on Mercury. As he looked up into the sky where the incident supposedly took place, he was immediately filled with intense panic and horror as he pictured a white bird and a blue bird savagely fighting each other. He pictured talons raking over each other's bodies, beaks biting down on certain other parts, and then the white bird overpowering the blue bird, holding it by the neck in a talon. Mercury then pictured other figures standing around him: one was red with blue and green wings similar to Mars, two more had dark navy blue feathers with a teal tinted face and neck like he did and he thought he had another navy blue and teal figure standing beside him: small and young while the red figure and two other navy and teal figures were taller. All four of the figures and himself watched as the white bird threw the blue bird at a tree trunk, the blue bird screaming and then slamming hard into the trunk, before slumping down. Venus also thought she saw a blue figure get thrown at the tree trunk by the white figure in the sky. The others looked on in curiosity. Then Mercury began to panic. His breathing increased, he began shaking everywhere, and his head began to spin. His stomach then churned and Mercury thought he was going to be sick. Tears also began welling in his eyes.

"Mercury?" asked Jupiter, "Mercury, are you okay?"

Mercury continued shaking, hearing Jupiter's voice but could not make out the words for it sounded echoed and garbled. He then heard cackling from the white bird in the sky in his head and then a terrified scream from his mother.

"What's up with him?" echoed Blu's voice.

"I think this is where he must have been severely traumatised," said Jupiter's voice, "By what I don't know."

"Venus is also entering a panic attack," echoed Saturn's voice.

"Mercury, Venus, come over to us," echoed Rafael's voice. Mercury, at first, didn't hear Rafael call to him and Venus. Nearby, Venus was in the same panicked state as Mercury. She was giddy, nauseated, and tearful and panicked all at the same time as well, and her amber eyes were wide with shock. Mercury then thought he saw the white bird swoop down on one of the navy blue and teal figures as he felt himself carried away by a paw. Finally, he heard the agonised cries of the figure. This was enough to finally send Mercury over the edge. Overwhelmed by panic and the flashbacks, Mercury dashed back in the direction of the group. He only snapped out of his trance caused by the flashbacks as he bumped into a large navy blue torso. At this, Mercury looked up and found himself gazing into the surprised blue eyes of Neptune. Nearby, Venus had rocketed back to the group and had bumped into Dash's front left leg. However, she fainted but was caught in time by Chiquitita and Cobalto. Mercury then looked at the others who had surprised looks on their faces and said, "Get us out of this place!" before blackness overcame him as he, too, fainted.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18- Mercury and Venus's explanation and return to Rio**

Mercury's world emerged out of the darkness. In his vision was a vermillion form with a black and white smudge on its top.

"Are you alright, Mercury?" asked the form, his voice echoed. Mercury's vision then began to clear and the blurry outline and vermillion form of Jupiter merged into view. Mercury then felt Jupiter's wing tap gently against his cheek, followed by a small splash of a cold liquid on his face. Mercury mumbled and rocked his head back and forth wearily. Orquidea had poured some cold water from a fruit shell on his head to help bring him out of the faint. As Mercury finally reached full alertness, he jolted his upper body up and looked around, eyes wide in confusion. He then found a number of pairs of concerned eyes looking at him.

"Whoa, what happened?" he asked.

"You passed out in my wings," explained Neptune, "And Venus passed out beside Dash and had to be caught by Chiquitita and Cobalto."

"You and Venus were like swaying as though you were drunk but with eyes filled with fear," said Blu. Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago stood nearby him.

"Or had been on a wild spinning ride," said Veggie, "I remember Susan walking unevenly just after she came off one of those spinning rides with the rotating seats when we went to a theme park. It made her very dizzy."

When some of the others looked at him in confusion, Veggie said, "Theme parks are places where humans enjoy having a burst of adrenaline and a thrill, either by riding fast cars with twisting and turning tracks or by going on spinning rides, among other things."

"Interesting," said Blu, "Linda never liked theme parks. Even looking at a roller-coaster made her feel nauseated."

Veggie smiled in amusement at this before refocusing on Mercury. Mercury then turned and saw the black, white and orange form of Rafael.

"'Get us out of this place' was the last thing you said before you fainted so we did just that," said Rafael. Mercury looked around and saw the maya blue form of Venus under the care of Ultramarine and Saturn with Lapis Lazuli, Pluto, Zephyr and Brisa standing nearby. Despite their attitude towards domesticated macaws, Zephyr and Brisa looked genuinely concerned for Venus and had been alarmed when they saw her and Mercury panic and then pass out. She too had recovered. Saturn then looked at Mercury's group.

"Is Mercury alright?" he asked.

"Yes, he is," replied Jupiter, "He's just come round."

"We did as you requested us and had removed you both out of that spot where you became panicked," said Uranus. Then as soon as the group was sure that Mercury and Venus were alright, they stood the two up on their talons. Venus then looked at the group.

"I think we understand how we ended up in Susan and Lucy's care in London, now," she said.

A while later, Mercury and Venus were sat on a large rock with the others gathered around them like an audience. Carla, Bia and Tiago sat on Blu and Jewel's laps while Rafael sat by the family. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were sat together because of their chain while Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Travis, Sunset, Dash and Veggie sat in a row with Ruby, Chiquitita, Zephyr, Brisa, Sapphire, Cobalto, Ultramarine, Esmeralda and Orquidea sitting on one end or between some of them. Mercury and Venus were much calmer now that they were out of the spot where they had those traumatising flashbacks, much to the relief of the others.

"Okay, tell us," said Jupiter calmly, "What makes you say that you two understand how you ended up in London?"

"And also why you were overwhelmed with panic at that spot?" asked Rafael.

"This place might actually be our birthplace," replied Venus. This was met with surprised looks from the wild born macaws.

"Birthplace?" repeated Zephyr in surprise.

"Why do you think this place might be your birthplace?" asked Ruby.

"Well," said Mercury, "Those trees felt familiar."

"We actually couldn't remember being born here at all," said Venus, "But now that we're in this environment, it just feels like we were born here."

"Can't you remember much about your family, if you had one?" asked Saturn.

"Did you have parents and even siblings at all?" asked Pluto. Mercury and Venus but their lower beak and closed their eyes to remember but could not remember much.

"If we had we could barely remember much about them," said Venus. Mercury also shrugged. Then Blu moved on to the reason why Mercury and Venus passed out after a panic attack.

"If I might ask," he asked, "Why were you in a panicked state before you both fainted?"

Venus gave the brown-eyed Spix macaw a reluctant look, especially seeing Tiago sit on his lap with Jewel holding Carla and Bia.

"I suggest some parental guidance for your two young daughters and son, Blu," she said warningly but gently and firmly, "This might be too disturbing for them to hear."

"Indeed," put in Mercury in agreement, "Some of the flashbacks we had, they might not want to hear about."

"Alright," said Blu and with that, he nodded to Jewel.

"I think it's best if I took them for a short walk away from the group until they've finished," said Jewel.

"I think that's a wise idea," said Veggie nearby, "I've a strong feeling that Mercury and Venus's explanation might be a bit too disturbing for them."

With that, Jewel told Carla, Bia and Tiago to follow her so that they could have a look at some flowers nearby. Bia chirped excitedly while Carla and Tiago just followed, bored. Veggie saws Bia's facial look as she left with her mother, brother and sister.

"She looks excited about the thought of looking at some flowers," he said with a smile.

"She takes after me," said Blu, "Like me, Bia loves science and nature. Anyway, let's listen to what your two friends have to say."

Then the tabby cat and Spix macaw turned to face Mercury and Venus again.

"So yes," said Venus, "When we gazed into that patch of apparently familiar jungle floor, we walked over to it. That was when the flashbacks started."

"And those flashbacks were just awful, honestly," said Mercury in a strangled voice. There was a slight pause as he tried restraining any sob that could escape his throat. Tears welled in his eyes as well.

"Go on," said Jupiter.

"Well, first we saw colourful comets and heard panicked squawks," said Mercury, "And some of those forms being caught and carried away by some furry four-legged forms."

This was met with horrified looks from the audience.

"And what else did you see in those flashbacks?" asked Neptune.

"Here comes the most disturbing part," said Venus, barely able to restrain her urge to sob, "We were on the ground... in front of that tree... while up in the air was a large form hovering over us."

"What colour was it?" asked Travis. Venus glanced at Travis and said, "White, like you."

"White!?" repeated Rafael in disbelief.

"Did it have a yellow crest? Brown eyes? Black beak and feet?" asked Blu immediately, wondering if the white form Venus and Mercury saw in their flashbacks was Nigel.

"The form was so high up we didn't get a proper glimpse of its features but all we can remember is that it was white, like Travis's feathers," said Mercury. Venus then said, "Mercury would have seen more of the scene than me. I only saw bits of it."

"Was that white creature which could have been a bird looking down on you with sadistic eyes?" asked Brisa.

"We never saw its face very well but it did laugh sadistically," said Venus, "We'll get to that in a minute. Anyway, that white form was hovering over us but then a blue form shot in and attacked it as it swooped down."

"It was dark blue, like Blu and Zephyr's feathers," said Mercury, "And the scene was absolutely brutal. I saw streaks of red appearing on both bodies as the two forms clawed each other. Then came the most disturbing bit: the white from grabbed the blue form, held it for a while before throwing it hard against a tree trunk. It screamed, smashed into the tree trunk and then flumped down where we were. I thought I was standing on some other forms."

"What other forms were they?" asked Pluto and Ceres together.

"Venus wasn't there when the blue form collapsed to the ground," said Mercury, "But I thought I was. There were four forms standing around me, looking in horror as the blue form fell. One was red with blue and green wings like Mars, and the other three were navy blue and teal like me, with one of them being small and standing next to me. The red form shook the blue form and cried, "No, no, nooo," in distress and anguish. Then..."

He then began to tear up but he managed to get some words out to describe briefly what happened next.

"I was captured by those furry creatures but during that..." said Mercury in a strangled voice, "One of the navy blue forms... screamed and flew off while the other... was attacked by the white form..."

Tears then began spilling down his face, much to the sympathy of the others in the audience.

"... The worst part was when I heard cries of agony and excruciating pain..." Mercury then began to sob. Venus put a comforting wing around his shoulder as he broke down.

"And... can you two remember what happened next?" asked Jupiter in a small voice. Mercury and Venus both shook their heads.

"However, when we were caged in the smugglers' den before we escaped," said Venus, "That brought back bad memories too. How those cats captured us and caged us... the birds wailing in despair..."

"Yeah, I had that too but not as severely," said Mercury. This was met by horrified faces.

"That would imply that you both were smuggled out of Rio," said Saturn.

"When did all that happen in that particular spot of the jungle?" asked Sunset.

"I can't even remember," replied Venus as Mercury managed to stop crying. Blu then had a thought.

"I think I remember being smuggled out of Rio too," he said, "But I was a chick back then. My parents had left the nest to find some food for me. I remember the whole jungle being filled with flying birds singing a song... and then suddenly, the song was abruptly cut off as nets and cages appeared and caught a lot of the birds. I fell out of the nest and was captured too."

"Really?" asked Jupiter.

"You must have not learned to fly when it happened," said Veggie, "Which may have resulted in you being grounded throughout your... domesticated life."

He was about to say 'pet life' but he knew how Blu would react to the word 'pet'.

"Speaking of being taken out of Brazil as a chick," said Venus, "It seems highly likely that we were smuggled out of Brazil as chicks too. I still remember being purchased with Mercury for Susan and Lucy when they were girls..."

"Good grief, Venus," said Pluto in shock that Venus remembered her and Mercury's purchase, "That was fifteen years ago."

"Dash, Veggie, Sunset and I weren't there when you were purchased," said Travis.

"We were purchased around ten years after Susan and Lucy got you macaws," said Veggie, "I as a kitten, Dash as a puppy and Travis and Sunset as chicks."

"Well, I think it's time we moved onto getting back to Rio," said Jupiter, "I would like to find our owners before it gets dark."

Just then Jewel returned with Carla, Bia and Tiago.

"Have Mercury and Venus finished their explanation for their flashbacks, yet?" asked Jewel.

"Yes," said Venus, "We're sorry to request that your chicks leave but... we felt that it was too disturbing for them to hear what we felt must tell you."

"It's okay," said Jewel, "We understand. I wanted to take our three chicks for a walk and some sightseeing anyway."

"Righty, let's get goin' then," said Rafael. And with that, he group all stood up and prepared to leave. Zephyr continued looking at Jewel and Blu with disgust.

"You're still upset that Jewel has paired up with a pet, Zephyr?" muttered Esmeralda with a frown. Zephyr did not reply and just got prepared to move on.

"What's it with him and his foul attitude?" asked Orquidea.

"I don't know but his attitude is irritating the rest of us," said Esmeralda in a low voice, "And his sister is no better."

Zephyr shot Orquidea and Esmeralda a glare.

"If you're talking about me and my sister, you two," he growled, "Prepare for a fierce telling off because I won't have it."

Esmeralda and Orquidea just glared back at the male Spix macaw as he and his sister Brisa walked away.

"Right, are we all ready?" asked Jupiter.

"Wait, where's Tiago?" asked Blu. At this, Jupiter looked and saw only Carla and Bia standing near Jewel. The third one was missing. Jewel then huffed in frustration.

"Oh, not again," she growled with a fling of her wings into the air, "That's the second time we have to deal with kids wandering off."

"I hope he hasn't gone far," said Travis.

"I hope not," snapped Blu angrily. Carla and Bia flinched at their father's snap.

"We'd better look for him then," said Rafael in a small voice. Then the group began to look around and call for Tiago's name. However, they were in for a shock. As Mars backed away towards a rock, his head scanning the surroundings for a small blue chick, a small feathery form hid stealthily behind the rock. Then before Mars could realise what was behind the rock near him, the blue form leaped out and screeched "BOOOO!"

Mars yelped and jumped into the air, making the others whirl round and focus their eyes on him. Mars, quivering with his feathers on end, then turned to see a small blue chick fall about laughing on the floor, his talons flailing ion the air. At this, Mars became cross yet slightly amused.

"Oh, trying to play scare tricks, huh," he muttered. Blu then came along and scooped up the hysterical chick.

"There you are, son," he muttered, a stern look on his face, "What have we told you about staying by our sides?"

Tiago, at this, lost his smile and moaned, "Aw, man."

Then Blu returned to Jewel, Carla and Bia with Tiago in his wings. Mars looked on with an amused frown.

"Looks like practical jokes are his favourite thing," he said.

"Well I hope he doesn't end up in a wrong crowd of chicks like he almost did with Rafael's rambunctious bunch with his sisters," said Ceres with a frown, "If he's going to develop a love for that topic. Anyway, let's move out."

And soon the group was back on its way.

"I hope Mercury and Venus don't end up in a panic attack like last time," said Dash worried for the two macaws.

"Well, this place seems highly familiar to them," said Pluto. He then moved onto another subject as he glared at the chain linking him to Lapis Lazuli.

"I hope we can get this thing off soon," he said, "It's seriously restricting our movement. I cannot even move far enough without tripping Lapis Lazuli over."

"Tell me about it," muttered Lapis Lazuli, "The sooner this comes off, the better."

"Don't worry, Lapis," said Rafael, "Once we get to Rio, we'll see how we're going to remove the chain."

Mercury growled at this remark.

"It would have been easier if all of us could fly to Rio," he muttered, "But since so many of us are grounded with some of us suffering sprained, injured and/or damaged wings, that's out of the question."

"That's right," said Saturn, "Seriously, Rafael, there's no way we're going to walk all the way down to the city."

Rafael then looked at him.

"That's a point," he said, "It would be sundown by the time we reach the outskirts of the city. There must be a faster way to get to the city in a shorter space of time."

As he said this, an idea entered Blu's head.

"How about hitching a ride on a vehicle?" he asked. Jupiter, at this, popped up and smiled.

"A car or a truck, of course," he said, "That mode of transport is so much faster."

But then he realised that the idea might have a dead end.

"But how do we find one to jump aboard?" he asked.

"Well, sometimes, tourists and visitors from the city of Rio drive up here to visit the Blu Bird Sanctuary..." said Blu.

"Blu Bird Sanctuary?" asked Veggie.

"This place," said Blu, "It's a nature reserve set up by Linda and Tulio to protect the bird and other animal residents here from poaching, and it is named in my honour. That's why it's so troubling that a second group of smugglers is out on the loose."

He then returned to the subject and said, "And I think I remember flying over a spot where cars and trucks often park while foraging for fruit for my precious Jewel..."

And with that, he took off to help guide the group on the ground to the spot. Jupiter smiled.

"Boy, I'm so glad we found you," he said, "You're a real lifesaver."

"Then let's try and find a truck to hitch a ride on," said Rafael and with that, the entire group began to follow Blu as he flew overhead. Zephyr and Brisa frowned at the Spix macaw as he flew overhead.

"Well, looks like we have no choice but to trust that pet," said Zephyr to his sister. He then eyed Jewel as she picked up Carla, Bia and Tiago to carry them and followed Venus and Mercury.

"And I don't like how Jewel over there is mixing with those pet macaws either," he muttered.

"Tell me about it," said Brisa, "You know, I think it's unfortunate that that daughter of Eduardo's has somehow stumbled upon some humans and has allowed herself to be caught..."

"Will you keep up with us please?" asked Mars with a scowl on the two sibling Spix macaws. Zephyr and Brisa eyed him.

"That's exactly what we're going to do, bossy red feathers," snapped Zephyr as he ran off after the others.

"Honestly, you're such a hothead at times," muttered Brisa.

"While it may be true that I have a short fuse," said Mars, "I don't tolerate anyone who threatens my friends, especially those smugglers and their cats. If we ever come across them again, I will not hesitate to attack them."

"What if you were faced with that psycho grey cat like last night when he chased us all through the slums of Rio?" asked Dash with a frown on his face, "He would have killed Jupiter had he not escaped."

Mars looked at the greyhound and realised that he was right. There was no way he could challenge that savage cat Brutus.

"Tell that to Jewel as well," he said, "If that Nigel broke her wing, I'd hate to think what that cat would do to her if she ever challenged him."

At this, Jewel shot the green-winged macaw a glare.

"If he ever threatens my mate and chicks, I will not hesitate to scratch him, red macaw," she growled, "Let's just get moving."

Mars just sighed and followed the others with Zephyr and Brisa not far behind. Soon the group was following Blu in the direction of a spot where humans would park their vehicles to visit the Blu Bird Sanctuary jungle. It took quite a while but eventually, Blu managed to guide them to one such spot. As soon as the group had arrived at the patch, Blu descended out of the air and joined the group and they all hid behind a large bush. Jupiter peered out and looked at the parking site. There were three cars and a truck but there were no humans in sight... at the moment.

"None of those cars are suitable for us to hop aboard without us getting spotted," said Veggie as he scanned the three cars, "That truck is our only option."

Jupiter and Rafael then looked at the truck. The trailer of the truck, the container behind the driving part, had a few pieces of human things packed in it. There were a few boxes and a cover, but there was plenty of room. Suddenly, a man emerged from behind a clutter of trees and walked towards it. he produced a small piece of metal that glinted in the sun and inserted it into one of the doors of the truck.

"We'd better be quick as well," said Dash, "Looks like that man who appears to be the owner of the truck is about to start it up to leave the place."

"Then let's move," said Rafael and with that, after making sure that no humans were in sight, he took off from the group's hiding place and made a beeline for the truck. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago followed and also landed in the truck. Jupiter then looked around for any humans before turning to the others.

"Hurry up, you lot," shouted Blu.

"That man's about to start the-," began Rafael as a chugging sound filled the air. A pipe at the back of the truck spat out some black smoke.

"Right, I need some hasty teamwork here," said Jupiter, "We must help those that cannot fly hop into that truck? Are you ready?"

The others nodded. Zephyr and Brisa also reluctantly nodded.

"Alright, let's go," said Jupiter and with that, the group of birds, cat and greyhound hurried out of the bush and rushed straight towards the truck. Zephyr picked up Brisa as the group made a break for it.

"Careful," said Blu. Sunset and Travis flew straight in while Zephyr carried Brisa into the truck's trailer. Veggie and Dash then jumped straight in and began to help the other birds in. however, just as Veggie and Dash picked up Mercury and Venus and helped them into the truck, the truck began to back out.

"Hurry," said Rafael. The other birds quickly followed the truck's movements to prevent the driver from seeing them. Jupiter quickly climbed in, followed by Saturn, then Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Mars, and then Ruby, Chiquitita, Esmeralda, Sapphire, Ultramarine, Orquidea and Cobalto who struggled to climb in but were helped in by Veggie, Dash and the others. Finally, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli had to make their entry but the truck began to drive away.

"Come on, you two," said Jupiter. The two glaucous macaws ran after the truck. Pluto took off and flew into the air, prompting Lapis Lazuli to run faster as the chain tightened between her and him. As Pluto landed in the trailer, Lapis Lazuli hooked her beak and talons onto the bumper (the protruding bar of metal spanning the width of the truck) and climbed over the flap at the end of the trailer. With Pluto and Veggie's help, she managed to climb in. This was the moment in which the group could relax.

"You made it," said Veggie.

"At least we all have," said Pluto as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for suggesting the idea, Blu," said Jupiter, "You've saved us a lot of walking. You're an outright genius."

"He's a real nerd bird," said Jewel with a smile to Blu. Blu smiled and lovingly slung his wing around Jewel's back and Jewel leaned against his chest. Zephyr and Brisa looked on in disgust.

"Her sickly romantic interactions with that pet are making me nauseated," muttered Zephyr in a low voice. At this, Venus elbowed him hard in the side, making Zephyr yelp, "Ow!" and grasp his wing.

"Watch your beak, wild boy," growled Venus in a low voice. Zephyr and Brisa just looked at her with scowls on their faces. Dash smiled as he watched the scenery of the jungle travel past them. The truck had picked up speed and was on its way to Rio.

"We're finally going to head back to the city," he said with a smile.

"Yup and then we'll try and find our owners," said Jupiter, "And head back to Tulio's Aviary."

The others nodded in agreement except some such as Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire who wore scowls on their faces.

"You will be reunited with your owners," said Rafael, "But let's focus on getting to Rio, okay?"

Then the truck disappeared down the route to Rio.

At this time, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake were driving in Francisco's hired jeep down the main road of Rio. Jack, Jill and Catina were with them, guiding them on the way. They were in a traffic jam and Francisco looked worried.

"I hope we get to wherever these two youngsters know where your pets and the other birds and hopefully, the valuable birds are as soon as we can," he said as he observed the clutter of traffic, "Before traffic wardens start setting up the cones around here for Carnival which is a few days away."

Susan sighed and put her face into her hands.

"We've just got to find them and Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Dash before that happens," she muttered, "The traffic must become more awkward when it's near Carnival, doesn't it?"

"It can do," said Francisco, "That is why we must find those birds as soon as possible."

Suddenly, the clutter of traffic began to move but only for a few metres. Francisco moved the jeep as the gap reached them so avoid blocking the road to the other drivers behind him.

"Right, you two, which road should we take?" Francisco asked Jack and Jill.

"That road down there," said Jack, indicating with a point of his finger to one of the side roads branching from the main road. Francisco then turned on the right indicator and prepared to enter that road. Then as the traffic moved slightly again, Francisco drove the jeep towards the target junction and turned off into it.

"It won't be long now before those traffic cones start being set up," said Francisco glancing back at the main road, "When Tulio and Linda were searching for Blu and Jewel with Fernando, they were actually caught up by the setting up of those cones."

He then drove the jeep down the road but he and his group were soon faced with another huge clutter: a large crowd of people. Francisco sighed impatiently as he began to carefully down the road to avoid knocking someone down.

"We're never going to get to the place at this rate," he muttered, "Gangway, you lot!"

And with that he pressed the horn to alert the crowd of his presence. The crowd of people nearest to the jeep immediately dispersed to make way for the vehicle. Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake looked on in amazement at how busy it was.

"We sometimes had to deal with jammed streets and the London Underground when it was very busy," said Drake, "I never knew that Rio de Janeiro could have such sea of people like this."

"Rio's streets are sometimes cluttered with people just like the roads are with cars and other vehicles," said Francisco, "Especially during rush hour. Anyway, let's just try and concentrate on reaching our destination."

Then he continued driving the jeep slowly through the cluttered road and street.

A while later, back with Jupiter and company, the truck on which the group had hitched a ride on had finally entered Rio. The driver of the truck had driven all the way from the jungle to a market area where a variety of exotic fruits were being chopped up and put up for sale. As the driver of the truck backed into a parking space, the animals prepared to jump out. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago fluttered out of the back of the truck's trailer, followed by Rafael. Veggie and Dash also jumped out of the trailer and began to help the birds out. Zephyr, Sunset and Travis jumped out and fluttered down and joined in with helping the others. Mercury and Sapphire climbed out of the trailer and jumped onto Dash's back. Dash ducked to allow the two Lear's macaws to hop onto the floor while Veggie caught Mars in his front paws and set him on the ground. While the other macaws jumped onto either Dash's back or into Veggie's front paws, Lapis Lazuli tried flying out of the truck and fluttering down onto the floor like how Zephyr and the others still able to fly did. Pluto perched onto one side of the trailer.

"Er, Lapis Lazuli, I think..." began Pluto as Lapis Lazuli jumped into the air and flapped her wings. Pluto did the same to keep within the distance allowed by the chain linking him to Lapis Lazuli. Lapis continued hovering in the air for a few more seconds until her scratched right wing finally gave out from the pain and she dropped towards the ground. As she fell, the chain between her and Pluto tightened and Pluto was dragged down. Both glaucous macaws flopped down in a heap beside the truck on the floor. While Lapis Lazuli grasped her scratched wing, Pluto glared at the chain while the other macaws continued climbing and jumping out of the truck.

"This HAS to come off sooner or later," he muttered, "And Lapis Lazuli still cannot fly with that scratched wing."

"Hey, don't blame me that I have been scratched, pal," growled Lapis Lazuli exasperatedly, "It's not my fault that I've been grounded because of my injured wing."

Jupiter then flapped down from the truck onto Dash's back. He was the last to leave the truck. As soon as his talons touched the floor, he walked over to the two glaucous macaws.

"We will get that chain off as soon as we can," he said, "But just try and be patient."

"Huh, my patience has just about run out," muttered Lapis Lazuli.

"Hey, quit your moaning," said Jewel nearby as she held Carla, "I can understand what you and Pluto are going through with that chain. I've been through the same problem with Blu when we were chained together."

Blu, who held Bia and Tiago, sighed. Rafael then saw a couple of small birds fly past a few metres away.

"Hey, you two," he called and ran over. As he ran off, Esmeralda looked on.

"Looks like he knows those two birds over there," she said. Neptune squinted into the distance at the two little birds.

"Wait a minute, are those two the same little birds we encountered on the way to Tulio's Aviary?" he asked.

"The same birds?" asked Ultramarine.

"That canary with the bottle cap and the chubby red and grey cardinal," said Neptune, "We met them while our owners drove us to Tulio's Aviary."

"Oh, those two?" asked Blu, "They're Nico and Pedro. They're a pair of rapping samba birds and the 'uncles' of Carla, Bia and Tiago. Carla here is a real fan of them."

Carla fidgeted excitedly in Jewel's wings as she saw Rafael return with the two little birds, which were a canary with a bottle cap and the grey and red cardinal. When the cardinal saw Blu and Jewel, he smiled.

"Well if it ain't our ol' friend Blu and his hot wing Jewel," he said cheerily. The yellow canary then flew over to the Spix macaw family and rested on Blu's shoulder.

"How are you an' your cute lickle chickies doin'?" he asked cheekily.

"Oh, we're fine, thanks," said Blu, "Our three chicks are developing their unique personalities. Bia likes nature, Tiago likes being slightly mischievous and Carla..."

As he said this, Carla jumped out of Jewel's wings and fluttered over to the canary and cardinal which were Nico and Pedro.

"Uncle Nico," she squeaked, "Uncle Pedro."

At this, Veggie mouthed the word 'uncle' in a confused manner.

"Hey, lickle Carla," said Nico with a wide smile on his face. Bia and Tiago then jumped out of Blu's wings and flew over to the pair and they shared a hug. Rafael looked on with a smile on his large beak.

"Well, looks like Carla, Bia and Tiago are happy to see Nico and Pedro again," he said. Blu and Jewel smiled in amusement. The three baby Spix macaws, canary and cardinal continued their hug until they broke it. As they did so, Nico's eyes spotted Neptune and Ultramarine.

"Well, what do we have here?" he asked with a smile on his beak. Pedro then saw the pair of hyacinth macaws until his eyes travelled to some more macaws, Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset.

"Wait a minute," he said. He took off and flew over to the lot and examined them up close.

"Are dese the same group of birds with their unusual cat friend and greyhound we saw earlier?" said Pedro as he examined Veggie and Dash. Nico joined him and looked from Mercury and Venus to Sapphire and Zephyr.

"Looks like dat gal Spix macaw and guy Lear's macaw had done well in their courtship, don't you think?" said the canary impressed. Zephyr and Sapphire sighed annoyed.

"Er... it didn't go very well," said Venus.

"Yeah, it went a bit... pair shaped," added Mercury, timidly looking at Sapphire in case she might attack him again. Sapphire gave him a stare.

"Awww, dat's too bad," said Nico, "But at least you met your counterparts."

He then flew over to the others.

"And it seems that the others apart from the two cockatoos, cat and dog have also met their opposites too," Nico said as he examined Jupiter and Ruby, Mars and Chiquitita, Neptune and Ultramarine, Ceres and Cobalto, Saturn and Orquidea, Uranus and Esmeralda.

"What!?" snapped Ruby in shock, "Met their opposites!?"

"Look, you two," muttered Jupiter, "It may seem like we've 'met our opposites' but we haven't. These other macaws were just some of the patients at Tulio's Aviary that happened to end up with us when we were kidnapped..."

Pedro then noticed Jupiter's tattered left wing as he gestured to the others.

"Wha's happened to your wing, Muscles?" he asked. Nico also saw the healed up scratch on Jupiter's belly.

"And your tummy," he said. Jupiter glanced at his tattered left wing and scratched belly and sighed.

"We were forced to escape a second group of smugglers last night," he muttered, "They had cats with them. Unfortunately, we were handled roughly and some of us got injured. One of them, a vicious Russian grey, scratched me down the flank and tore out some of my left wing flight feathers."

"It was terrible, honestly," muttered Veggie, "Some of the macaws have suffered sprained or scratched wings, Neptune and the other hyacinth macaw were stuffed into cages FAR too small for them, and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli over there are chained together."

Nico and Pedro then looked at Pluto and Lapis Lazuli who showed them the chain linking them together to clarify Veggie's explanation.

"When we saw those two with that chain," said Blu, "We were horrified. Not to mention the news of a second group of smugglers afoot."

"Yeah, especially now that that patch of the jungle is now a Sanctuary with poaching outlawed," said Jewel.

"Not only that," said Dash, "We have an awful feeling that the second group of smugglers might be after Blu and his family as well."

Nico and Pedro examined the chain holding Pluto and Lapis Lazuli together. Then Rafael said, "You see, we did suggest to Jupiter and his group that we go to Luiz's to have him see to that chain like how he did for Blu and Jewel."

Then a thought came to him and said, "Speaking of Luiz, I heard that he had taken in a female stray greyhound and given her shelter a while ago."

Nico and Pedro looked up.

"Oh, you mean Ginger, Rafy?" asked Nico.

"Yeah, I remember," said Pedro, "She's that ginger coloured greyhound, isn't she?"

"Greyhound?" asked Dash. Nico looked at him.

"Ginger is a female greyhound who had spent most of her years as a stray dog, amigo," said the canary, "She fled her owners as a puppy and was forced to live on the streets..."

"Oh, that's sad," said Dash in shock.

"Why did she flee her owners?" asked Uranus.

"Her owners were a couple of humans and a girl," said Nico, "Unfortunately; the girl was cruel and abusive. Ginger told us that she was forced to help a macaw escape because that macaw suffered the brunt of the abuse..."

Ceres sighed and shook her head in distain.

"Abusive humans to their pets," she growled, "I loathe them."

"Join the perch," said Cobalto. Ruby looked at the two blue-throated macaws and nodded in agreement.

"So yeah, Ginger has a very sad history," said Pedro with a sombre look on his face. Cheering up, he moved on to another subject.

"Anyway," he said, his eyes scanning the macaws, "I think it's time to raise things to th' next level."

"What do you mean 'raise things to the next level'?" asked Jupiter.

"Well, we're goin' to introduce you guys to the samba beat," said Nico, "Like how we introduced Blu to the samba beat. We wanna take you guys to a club of ours."

"You mean you want to take us to a birds' club?" asked Saturn.

"Yeah," laughed Pedro. Veggie then frowned.

"Well, if you're going to take us to that," he said firmly, "Make sure you let the other birds know that a vegetarian cat will be with these macaws so as to avoid chaos."

"Don't worry, we will, Veggie cat," said Nico woith a cheeky sdmile. Sunset smiled.

"Oh, I'd love to see your samba club and... meet other birds," she said.

"Den let's get to it," said Nico, "An' those couples-to-be could do with a lil' intro to samba as well."

The other macaws looked at the canary and cardinal in protest.

"We're NOT couples!" said Zephyr angrily. Brisa also rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"But we don't have time," added Jupiter, "We need to get back to Tulio's Aviary and our owners."

"Absolutely," said Venus, "We've been through enough hassle as it is."

The other macaws nodded in agreement.

At this, Rafael put his wings around Jupiter's and Saturn's shoulders.

"Oh, come on, you lot," said Rafael with a smile, "You're in Rio, you should enjoy it."

"Yeah, absolutely," said Blu as he, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago began to follow Nico and Pedro. With that, Rafael led Jupiter and his group after the canary and cardinal duo. Pluto looked at Mercury and Venus and just shrugged before he felt the chain tug at his foot.

"Pluto," snapped Lapis Lazuli with a frown as she felt the chain tug at her foot and tense when Pluto stood still. Pluto ran off after Lapis Lazuli and the group left in the direction of Nico and Pedro's club. However, the entire group had been unaware that they had some eavesdroppers listening in on their conversation and watching them. A crate nearby began to move and out from under it, emerged a black and white cat and four other cats. The black and white cat glared evilly at the group of birds, cat and greyhound as they left. Snickering wickedly, Otis picked up the mobile phone and began to contact Brutus. Somewhere else in Rio, Brutus was helping some cats cage more birds when his mobile phone rang. At this, Brutus picked up the device and answered it.

"Hi, Otis," he said.

"Hi there, Brutus," said Otis gleefully, "I bring some good news. I and my group have found the group of birds we are after, including the seven invaluable macaws: the three Spix macaws, the two Lear's macaws and the two glaucous macaws. To add, the Spix macaw family of five is with them."

"Oh, brilliant," said Brutus, "Okay then. Keep an eye on that group of birds and make sure you don't lose them. Make sure you capture those twelve valuable macaws including the Spix macaw family and have them prepared for when we arrive. I'll see you later."

"Okay," said Otis, "We'd better get going, anyway, the group of birds will soon be out of sight. I'll see you."

"See you," said Brutus and with that, both cats hung up. Otis then called together his subgroup, the other cats that had been hiding and began to follow Jupiter and company including Blu and Jewel and their three chicks. Some of the cats were armed with cages.

"Okay, let's follow that lot first," said Otis to the others "And then we'll plan a surprise attack."

The other cats nodded and with that, the group began to stealthily follow Jupiter and company, making sure to stay out of the sight of the humans around them as well as making sure not to give away their presence to Jupiter and company.


	19. Chapter 19

11

 **Chapter 19- a dance at the club, birds vs cats!**

A while later, Rafael, Nico and Pedro led Jupiter and company to a large tent construction. Before entry, Nico and Pedro had warned the clubbers inside that a freshly vegetarian cat was with the newcomers, so the clubbers had that in mind so that they didn't react to Veggie in fright as he entered the club. As the large group entered the tent, Jupiter and company were greeted with an explosion of party music and colourful lights and feathers. Mercury, Sapphire, Venus Zephyr and Brisa entered first with Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago at their side and Rafael, Nico and Pedro in front of them, followed by Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Chiquitita, Ruby, Esmeralda and Orquidea and then Neptune, Ultramarine, Ceres, Cobalto, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and then finally, Veggie, Dash, Sunset and Travis. As the group entered the tent, their eyes widened in awe. There were colourful birds flying above and more birds swamping the dance floor dancing. Instruments made from discarded trash were set up in one side of the tent. When Mars looked at some of the instruments closely, he realised that some metal bowls had been set up to make makeshift drums and cymbals. Veggie, meanwhile, had his eyes on the air above which was filled with flying macaws and other birds.

"Isn't God's creation so beautiful when you see how colourful some of His animals are, like tropical birds and fish?" he crooned in awe.

"Wow, other green-winged macaws," said Sunset, "If only Mars could fly like they could."

"Welcome to Paradise," said Nico.

"Paradise?" asked Venus, "Is that what the club is called?"

"Of course," said Blu, "This is where Jewel and I had our first dance."

"You danced here!?" asked Zephyr distastefully.

"Yes," snapped Jewel, "This is also how my relationship with Blu warmed up."

"It sounds romantic," said Mercury.

"It sounds sloppy," muttered Sapphire.

"It sounds distasteful," growled Brisa with her wings crossed and a disgusted look on her face. Then Mars stepped in, his eyes on a group of dancing green-winged macaws in the air.

"Oh, I wish I could join that lot up there," he said longingly.

"Hah," scoffed Chiquitita, "As a human's pet, you've no chance."

Mars shot her a glare when Rafael came between them.

"Now, now, now, let's have no quarrels, shall we," he said with his wings around both green-winged macaws. He then looked from Mars and Chiquitita to Zephyr, Brisa, Venus, Mercury and Sapphire and then to Lapis Lazuli, Pluto, Jupiter, Ruby, Ceres, Cobalto, Uranus, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine, Saturn and Orquidea who just stood nearby in a row. Nearby, Blu and Jewel had left with Nico and Pedro to discuss what song they would like to play for the newcomers but not before Jewel had left Carla, Bia and Tiago in the care of Dash.

"Look after our chicks, won't you?" she said.

"Okay," said Dash and with that, Jewel disappeared off in the direction of Blu, Nico and Pedro. Carla looked on.

"When I grow up, I wanna be like Uncle Nico and Uncle Pedro," she squeaked.

"Do you, now?" asked Dash with a smile. Veggie looked from Carla to Bia and then to Tiago and then back again.

"You know something, apart from their eyes and plumage, they don't look much like their parents at all," he said. Travis then came in.

"Well, maybe they will do in time," he said, "I remember seeing a couple of African grey parrots with four chicks back in London. When the chicks were young, they looked alike but as they grew older, their appearances diverged and their inherited features began to show."

Veggie then looked at Carla and Bia and said, "Well, if that is the case, then I wouldn't be surprised if these two daughters took on the appearance of their mother Jewel, and Tiago perhaps the appearance of his father Blu."

"They are just fledglings at the moment," said Sunset, "But as they age, their other inherited features will show. For example, Bia might gain a slender build like Jewel or a stocky build like Blu, or Carla might become a spitting image of Jewel as she grows up. We just don't know at the moment."

"But their hobbies certainly are showing," said Dash, "Bia likes science, Tiago is a little rascal and Carla appears into music."

Carla then looked at Veggie and asked, "Are you into music, Mr. Veggie?"

"Hmm... probably not as much as your canary and cardinal friends or 'uncles' over there," said Veggie with a smile. Carla tittered slightly. Then Veggie became confused.

"But since Nico and Pedro are a completely different species to Blu and his family," he said to Dash, "Why are Nico and Pedro 'uncles' to these three?"

"I don't know," said Dash, "Maybe because those two are Blu and Jewel's close friends and, in a way, extended family? Rafael and Eva must be the same since they are also close friends of Blu and Jewel."

"Well, if any of us decide to pair up and have chicks of our own," said Travis, "Then I'd like our chicks to treat our friends like aunts and uncles since they are like my extended family too."

As he said this, Sapphire just huffed and rolled her eyes while Mercury just smiled.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," he said. Venus nearby also smiled.

"I agree," she said, "I wouldn't mind helping to raising your chicks, Travis."

Venus then looked at Carla, Bia and Tiago and sighed.

"I would love to have chicks of my own," she crooned longingly, "But unfortunately, based on the rarity of my species, the chances of that happening are slim."

Zephyr just looked at Venus and said, "Don't count on it, human's pet girl."

Venus just shot Zephyr a glare. Backstage, Blu, Jewel, Nico and Pedro were talking.

"I know how about you play Hot Wings (I Wanna Party) just like how you did for me and Blu, Nico and Pedro?" asked Jewel.

"That sounds like a good idea, baby bird," said Nico with a wide smile on his beak.

"Yeah, I like dat," said Pedro, "An' I'm sure our new friends would _luurrve_ that song. Let's get to it den."

And with that, the flour birds exited the backstage area and reappeared in the main dancing area of the club. As Blu and Jewel took up their position on the dance floor, ready to dance again, Nico and Pedro prepared to start up the song.

"Okay, everyone, listen up," called Nico. At this, all the birds stopped dancing and turned their eyes to the canary and cardinal duo as they hovered over the makeshift drum kit. Jupiter and company did the same and looked on curiously.

"We have a group of newcomers whom I'd like to introduce ya to," said Pedro, "They're all either from a country across the Atlantic Ocean or from here. Two o' dem are ultra rare glaucous macaws and they are accompanied by their unusual vegetarian cat and greyhound friend..."

As he said this, a spotlight shone down onto Jupiter and company and all eyes of the audience formed by the surrounding birds focused on them. Jupiter looked around curiously while Pluto hid behind Neptune in shyness. The others also looked around curiously.

"What?" said Saturn in a low voice. Zephyr and Brisa also looked at each other.

"... and let's introduce them to the sound and beat of samba," finished Pedro. He then flew over to one part of the instrument section and continued, "Okay now, everybody put your wings together and clap 'em... flap 'em... oh, I don't care, slap 'em... you all know what to do."

And with that, Pedro let loose a caw while Nico causally leaned against a large can and smiled.

"Party in Ipanema, baby," he crooned with a smile on his face. And with that, the entire club erupted into song. Nico and Pedro began thumping the overturned metal cans and all the birds around Jupiter and company began stomping their wings. One rosette spoonbill nearby began to shake a couple of maracas, one in each wing. Veggie and Dash who were in the shadows, looked around as the song started up.

Nico and Pedro: I wanna party... I wanna samba... I wanna party... I wanna samba... I wanna party, and live my life (my life), I wanna party (party) and fly...

And with that, both the canary and cardinal flew into the air. Jupiter looked on in wonder.

Nico (plays his bottle cap hat as a tambourine): Hey, I'ma fly, fly jus' like a bird (Pedro: but you _are_ a bird!)

Nico: Oh, yeah, you're right, so let me fly just like a rocket, den (bird audience: HEY!)

Nico (rockets upward and then drops): Fly so high where I need to come done for ox-y-gen (bird audience: HEY!)

As Nico sung this part, Jupiter began nodding his head to the music while Venus felt her feet begin to tap to the beat.

Nico: 'Cause once we start it, baby, ain't no, ain't no stoppin' den (bird audience: HEY!)

Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Ceres then began to feel their tail shake while Saturn, Mercury and Mars began to feel like dancing. Venus then stopped and had a flashback of when she was a chick and she danced to the music in the jungle. Four blue forms, two large and two small like her, danced alongside her. Mercury also had a flashback in his head when he was a chick. In the flashback, he danced with five other dark blue forms in the jungle. As Mercury's flashback ended, Jupiter suddenly began dancing.

Nico (dances and slides): 'Cause I just wanna live my life and par-ty (bird audience: HEY!)... All I want is to be free and rock my bo-dy (okay)

Nico (dances with Pedro): Been 'round th' world and I wanna life my life... in Rio, 'cause I Rio, 'cause I Rio-lise that..."

(Nico and Pedro): I wanna party (party)...

Then Venus and Mercury began dancing while Jupiter did an impressive break dance.

"What on earth is up with you three?" asked Veggie with an amused smile.

"I don't know," replied Venus as she tried controlling her feet.

"Our body's moving as though they've got a mind of their own," said Mercury as he stepped in sync with the beat.

"Wow, impressive spin on your back, Jupiter," said Dash amazed. Jupiter just looked at Dash as he continued instinctively dancing. Ruby, Zephyr and Sapphire looked on impressed. Then Neptune began to instinctively dance, followed by Uranus, Ceres, Pluto, Mars and Saturn, much to the amusement of Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Dash and the other macaws. Rafael saw them dance.

"Alright, you lot," he said. Veggie then eyed him. Between Dash's front legs, Carla was dancing to the beat while Bia and Tiago looked on bored. Nearby, Blu and Jewel were dancing together.

"Is it an instinctive thing or something?" Veggie asked. Rafael came round to him and put a wing on his shoulders.

"It's something we birds have, Veggie cat," he said, "But I don't think you cats and dogs have that."

Veggie shook his head in disbelief.

"What? Who says I can't dance?" he snapped slightly, "I can dance, and so can Dash!"

"Yeah," said Dash. Ceres then came by sliding her feet backwards in a moonwalk style no different from that of Michael Jackson. She then twirled impressively.

"She's dancing like Michael Jackson," said Veggie amazed, "I didn't know Ceres could dance like that."

"It's not me," muttered Ceres as she unintentionally did another spin and then swung her wings, "It- it- it's the music... it's..."

Suddenly a yellow and cobalt blue wing appeared and grabbed her wing. Ceres cried in shock as she was pulled over one way and then flung back the other way. Cobalto had grabbed her wing, flung her into one wing and then back into his other wing.

"I don't know but your dancing sure is impressive, lil' miss," he said with a smile on his face. Ceres laughed sheepishly. Rafael who stood by Veggie laughed.

Pedro: I'm that samba, samba, masta, masta, masta, masta, masta, who shouts from a ghetto blasta, blasta, blasta, blasta, blasta...

Ruby then danced elegantly and invited Jupiter to join him. Nearby, Zephyr also danced and invited Venus to join him as well. Rafael smiled as Venus and Jupiter looked on confused.

"Hey, they like you, you two," said Rafael.

"What?" snapped Venus, "You should have heard his attitude. He does not like us at all."

"Oh, come on," insisted Rafael, "Go, dance with him."

And with that, he pushed Venus who crashed slightly into Zephyr.

"You too, Muscles," said Rafael to Jupiter and gave him a light shove. Jupiter protested but was pushed into Ruby. The two scarlet macaws stared at each other and began dancing. Zephyr and Venus also began dancing in a circle.

Nico and Pedro: I wanna party (party), I wanna samba (party), I wanna party (party)...

Nearby Ruby and Jupiter, Uranus was dancing with Esmeralda, Neptune was dancing with Ultramarine, Ceres was dancing with Cobalto, Mercury danced with Sapphire, Saturn danced with Orquidea, Mars danced with Chiquitita and Pluto danced with Lapis Lazuli despite being chained together. Mars impressively twirled Chiquitita under his wing and the tiny green-winged macaw smiled as she turned to face him again. Blu and Jewel continued dancing and smiled as they watched the nine macaw couples dance. Brisa danced along the edge of the spotlight. Nearby, Veggie clapped his forepaws to the beat while Travis and Sunset danced together as well. Dash then saw a flower placed on the floor nearby; apparently put there by one of the birds in the audience. At this, he went over to it, picked it up and tossed it to Neptune. Neptune grabbed the flower in his beak and continued dancing with Ultramarine. Saturn and Orquidea then swung their wings in sync and began to dance in a waltz: Saturn had his wing slug around Orquidea and his other wing holding Orquidea's other wing and the two rhythmically stepped in one direction with their held wings pointing in that direction and then turned to dance the other way. Uranus and Esmeralda also danced Latin style. They both twirled around and walked away from each other in opposite directions, danced for a bit separately before stepping back towards each other. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli passed by each other with Lapis Lazuli twirling and then facing Pluto, smiles adorning their beaks. Mercury did an impressive caterpillar move with Sapphire dancing by, Sapphire shaking her beautiful long head feathers in an elegant manner. Mercury then stood up, pulled Sapphire down into one wing and then heaved her up again, spun her and had her lean over his other wing. The two gazed at each other and smiled sweetly. Nearby, Venus twirled under Zephyr's wing and continued dancing with him.

Nico and Pedro: And fly...

All birds: Hey, hey, hey...

The birds continued dancing and chanting 'Hey' over and over again with Pedro's short squawks interjecting the chant at regular interviews. The nine macaw couples continued dancing with Rafael watching. Veggie and Dash also danced while Travis and Sunset did a Paso Doble dance. Blu and Jewel also kept on dancing while Carla, this time with Bia and Tiago joining, clapped their wings to the beat. Venus and Zephyr then wrapped their wings around each other and spun around. Then after a few seconds of spinning, Venus heaved Zephyr into the air like how Blu did with Jewel during their first dance. Zephyr then hovered in the air and began chanting 'La-ya' over and over again. His lush blue feathers glowed brilliantly in the purple spotlight; exactly like how Jewel's cerulean feathers did when she hovered. As Zephyr hovered elegantly in the air, Venus was mesmerised by how handsome he was under the light, and like how Blu did with Jewel, gazed at him with awe-filled eyes. Nearby, Sapphire swished her long head feathers this way and that, mesmerising Mercury. Zephyr continued chanting 'Laya' and hovering in the air for a few more seconds before finally flitting back to earth again. He and Venus then gazed at each other, lost in each other's eyes. The two then slowly began to lean towards each other as though they would kiss. Nearby, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were also staring at each other lovingly while the other seven macaw couples continued dancing. The birds around the group continued chanting 'Hey'. It wasn't long before Jupiter and Ruby began gazing into each other's eyes as well.

However, the atmosphere was suddenly shattered as sunlight poured into the club accompanied by the crashing of the tent as it collapsed and by cat screeches, snapping Jupiter, Ruby, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and Zephyr and Venus out of their trances. The other birds also looked around in shock.

"Hey, what the-!?" shouted Uranus as he held Esmeralda in his wings midway through a dance move with her.

"Who turned on the lights!?" shouted Neptune. Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset also looked around in shock while Carla, Bia and Tiago made a hasty retreat under an equally confused Blu and Jewel's wings. As the birds continued looked around in shock a group of cats bounded over the fallen tent and instruments and landed directly in front of them. The cats then eyed the group of birds with evil looks on their faces. Some of the cats were armed with cages, ready for catching and caging any bird that was caught. When Blu and Jewel saw the cats, they immediately spread their wings protectively across their three chicks while Travis and Sunset took up defensive positions in front of the family, their crests raised.

"What's going on?" asked Blu in a low voice.

"Well, remember the second group of smugglers we told you about earlier and that they are assisted by cats?" asked Veggie. He then pointed a paw to the crowd of cats to clarify this. The birds, including Nico and Pedro continued looking at each other before finally taking up defensive poses as a black and white cat made his way from the back of the cat crowd, through it and to the front. His brown eyes were fixed on Jupiter's group. As soon as he was in front of his group of cats, Otis smiled evilly.

"You lot," he crooned wickedly, pointing a paw at Jupiter and company, "Are gonna come with us, be re-caged and then taken back to our owners with your friends!"

He then eyed Mercury, Sapphire, Venus, Zephyr and Brisa, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and said, "Especially you seven."

Eying Blu, Jewel and their three chicks with Travis and Sunset standing in front of them next, Otis said, "And the same applies to you and your three kids as well."

"In your dreams, kitty," snarled Jewel.

"There's no way you're going to lay a paw on this family," snarled Travis fiercely, "If you dare threaten them, Blu and Jewel here will not hesitate to use their beaks and talons aggressively."

"Yeah!" snarled Jewel in agreement.

"Absolutely," added Blu. Sunset nodded her head hard in agreement. Otis just smiled wickedly.

"As for the rest of us," growled Jupiter, "There's no way we're going to be caged, especially after what happened to some of the large birds like Neptune and Ultramarine."

"Absolutely not," said Neptune angrily. Otis just laughed.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, birdies," he crooned, "You're gonna be caged regardless."

Veggie and Dash then came forward.

"You dare threaten my feathered friends, cat," snarled Veggie, his fur puffed out, "I'm gonna have my greyhound friend here chase you off."

"And you will not be able to outrun me for I am built for speed," growled Dash. Otis just looked at the two mammals and laughed again.

"You two don't scare me one bit, you pair of meddling pests," he said mockingly, "You're gonna come with us as well and face the consequences for messing up our plans."

Veggie and Dash just stood there, their angry eyes fixed on the black and white cat. Then Rafael came in, an angry look adorning his face.

"Look, there's NO WAY you're gonna cage us and take us away, furball," he snarled, "This area has absolutely NO place for cats accept Veggie cat (pointing to Veggie) over there. Why don't you and your friends leave us alone and return to the dark alleys where you belong!?"

Otis, in response, grabbed Rafael by the neck with a front paw.

"Resistance is futile, Big Nose," he growled, "You're gonna be caged no matter what!"

He was about to throw the toucan down in a rage when a large black talon reached out, grabbed his neck and pulled him forward. Otis gasped as he came face to face with the fiery violet eyes of a large female hyacinth macaw.

"You dare hurt that toucan, trash can scavenger," snarled Ultramarine in a low voice threateningly, "I'll be furious, and you won't like me when I'm angry!"

"And neither would you like it when I get angry," growled Jupiter, "You've seen what happened as I attacked your three owners last time."

"Yeah," said Dash, "So we will not surrender without a FIGHT!"

"Absolutely not," said the other birds behind Jupiter's group. Nico and Pedro then lighted down beside Uranus and Esmeralda and prepared for action.

"Yeah," snarled Pedro, "You pack of pesky Garfields!"

The air having over the two groups then began to tense. Both cat and bird (with Dash and Veggie) groups glared daggers at each other in a fierce faceoff. As the atmosphere escalated, Pluto looked around timidly.

"I don't like fights," he said fearfully.

"Look, Pluto..." began Lapis Lazuli but before she could protest, she was dragged along by Pluto via the chain as he flew off to find cover. After the pair of glaucous macaws had vanished, Pedro screeched, "BIRDS VS CAAAAAAATS!"

"ATTAAAAACK!" screeched Otis and with that, both groups lunged at each other and a massive fight broke out. Nico threw some grapes towards Pedro and he began throwing them at some attacking cats. Each cat was knocked out one by one as a grape splattered in each of their faces. Nico and Pedro did a triumphant chest bump.

"Yeah, take that, ya pesky felines," said Pedro. In the middle of the battle ground, Mercury and Sapphire were working together knocking out some cats. One cat jumped at Mercury but he jumped up and sent the cat missing its target and flying into some of the instruments. Another cat attempted to catch Sapphire but she just stuck out a talon and tripped it. The cat was sent flying into more cats as they chased some small birds, resulting in an explosion of cats as they fell everywhere.

"Hah, take that, you pesky vermin," snarled Sapphire. Nearby, Sunset and Travis were fending off more cats. Travis did karate chop-styled wing attacks on each cat that came his way while Sunset head butted and kicked more cats. Sunset even gave one cat a cat-like screech right into its face combined with her raised crest. The cat, startled, turned tail and ran off.

"Nice shot, Sunset," said Travis as he tossed another cat aside. Sunset smiled. Close by, Blu and Jewel were fending off more cats and protecting their chicks. Carla, Bia and Tiago hid timidly under their parents' wings as they fended off more cats. Suddenly, a cat jumped onto Blu's back and tried to throttle him. Blu struggled as the cat wrapped its forelegs around his neck when suddenly; a brown, black and ginger blur rushed in and swiped the cat off of him. Veggie had come to the rescue. He then jumped at more cats and tackled them to protect Jewel and the chicks while Dash kicked his legs like a horse at more cats nearby. After Veggie had fended off another cat, he turned to Jewel who gave him a nod of approval and thanks.

"You'd better get your chicks to safety," said Veggie seriously. Jewel was about to do so when suddenly, she was confronted by more cats. Carla, Bia and Tiago whimpered timidly and hid in their mothers' wings. The cats then began to close in on Jewel, evil eyes and grins adorning their faces. Blu saw that his family was in danger and that Veggie was occupied with more cats.

"Jewel, kids!" he cried and tried to jump in to defend them but another cat charged into him and knocked him aside.

"Blu," cried Jewel as she continued cuddling her terrified kids.

"Hah, you're trapped, mother bird," cackled one of the cats, "It is time for you to step into one of our cages."

Jewel eyed the cat as two more cats came along with an open cage. Her look of fear morphed into one of fury.

"NEVER!" she screeched. However, this did not deter the cats and they only cackled in response. Nearby, Ruby and Chiquitita continued fighting more cats. Jupiter was using his bulk and powerful wings to stop cats in their tracks as they leapt at him in an attempt to catch him while at the same time whacked them with his powerful wings.

"You k now," he snarled as he braced himself against another cat and struggled with it, "Sometimes it pays to... be as strong as... that Popeye the Sailor character..."

He then twirled round and kicked another cat in the face, sending it flying into some crates filled with fruit. Ruby then looked around and saw Jewel with her chicks surrounded by cats as they closed in on her. Suddenly, a cat picked Ruby up and threw her in that direction. Ruby then flapped like mad over to Jewel but because of her clipped wings, she could only fly a short distance. She landed right in the centre of the cats with Jewel and her chicks. As much as she hated the Spix macaw, Ruby did not want to see her nemesis get caught and caged, certainly not with a brood of three chicks to defend. Jewel looked in surprise at Ruby as she backed towards her with the cats closing in. then as soon as Ruby and Jewel were back to back, the two linked wings while Carla, Bia and Tiago flew up into the air. Then some cats jumped at the scarlet and Spix macaw in an attempt to grab them but Jewel heaved Ruby onto her back and had her 'run' along the circle of cats. Ruby kicked each cat in the face while Jewel, with her wings interlocking hers, turned in sync with her. Cats were knocked back as Ruby kicked each of them in the face. After this, Ruby placed her talons on the ground and flung Jewel into the air after her kids. Jewel immediately took flight, scooped up her chicks and flew to a safe place. However, she hovered in midair to realise that Ruby was in danger with the circle of cats but Ruby insisted.

"Go, Eddie's daughter," she commanded, "You need to take your chicks to safety."

Jewel, at first, hesitated before finally complying. Ruby then began to attack the circle of cats on her own but was immediately overpowered as six cats pounced onto her back. Ruby struggled under their grasp but could not get out of it.

"Hah, we've got you know, macaw," cackled one of the cats, "It's time for you to be caged." however, before it could nod to one of the cats that had a cage on paw, a dark blue blur swooped in and charged them like an aerial bull. The cats looked on stunned before two light blue birds jumped in and began to wing-slap them and claw them across the faces. Zephyr, Venus and Brisa had come to the rescue.

"Take THAT, you tacky felines," snarled Zephyr as he head butted another in the face. Brisa and Venus then attacked those restraining Ruby, as soon as they had knocked off the cats on Ruby, the scarlet macaw got up. Zephyr, Venus and Brisa continued fighting the cats until they made them retreat. Ruby looked at Zephyr and Brisa in shock.

"You just rescue me," she said in a slow voice.

"Look, we have learned a valuable lesson even though we hate each other," said Zephyr, "Jupiter was right. We MUST stand together."

And with that, he flew off after another cat to attack it and rescue a parakeet. Ruby, Venus and Brisa then began to work together in fighting off more cats. Mars and Chiquitita were working together to fight off more cats. Mars sidestepped a charging cat and sent it colliding with three more cats while Chiquitita, armed with a dragonfruit, splattered another cat with it. Bits of fuchsia pink and green fruit skin and white flesh dotted with tiny black seeds flew everywhere as the cat was struck with it. Nearby, Neptune and Ultramarine were using their massive strength and size to subdue more cats.

"Beware of our beaks you pests," snarled Neptune as he kicked another cat in the face, "They're powerful enough to break a man's knuckles!"

And with that, he wing-slapped three more cats and sent them flying. Ultramarine stomped on another cat and drew the breath out of it. She then took hold of it, rolled over and with a powerful flick of her feet; she sent the cat flying right over the battlefield and into a crate of fruit. Fruit and wood splattered everywhere, followed by the falling of more crates which landed on more cats as they chased more birds. Nearby, Saturn, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Uranus, Ceres and Cobalto were running around with more cats chasing them. Saturn and Orquidea were pursued by one group of cats while the other four were pursued by another group. The two separate groups continued running around until they finally met after running in from opposite directions. As the six macaws met, they immediately jumped up and sent their pursuers colliding headfirst into each other. Esmeralda then flew over to more cats as they continued attacking Mercury and Sapphire and drove them off by lashing at them with her claws. Nearby, Rafael was whacking more cats with a swing of his large orange and black beak. He knocked one cat into a crate while he stunned another by hitting it on the head. Rafael also stuck out a foot and tripped another cat, sending it flying into another crate. The cat wearily looked up but a pineapple appeared and shoved over its head. The cat, with the pineapple over its head and upper body fainted. Lapis Lazuli peered out from Pluto's hiding place and glared at it smugly. She had been the one to stuff the pineapple over the cat's head. Around the battlefield, more cats continued fighting more birds. One cat was riding a green-winged macaw (not Mars or Chiquitita) like a rodeo while another was throttling a parakeet. A conure struggled with another cat while a rosette spoonbill, with its massive beak and feet, stomped on more cats and swung its bill to whack other cats. As the group continued fighting the cats, Dash, as he restrained another cat, shouted, "There must be a way out of this!"

Jupiter, under the struggle of another cat, looked in one direction and saw a car with a trailer about to leave.

"There," he shouted, "We'll hitch a ride on that trailer."

At this, the other members of the group stopped fighting and began to make a break for it. Zephyr quickly picked up Brisa and took off while Travis and Sunset flew after them. However, the macaws that were grounded, along with Veggie, found themselves surrounded by more cats.

"You're goin' nowhere, you lot," snarled Otis angrily, "You're gonna be caged no matter what!"

However, before he and his gang could leap upon the group, Zephyr flew in and attacked them. Cats flew everywhere and before the cats knew what was happening, a grey blur joined in. Dash bolted his back legs and lashed his front paws at more cats, sensing them flying everywhere. This commotion was enough to break the circle and the grounded macaws made a beeline for the car and trailer.

"Hurry," shouted Venus as the group began to climb into the trailer.

"Wait, where are Blu and his family, and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli?" asked Saturn as he hopped into the trailer. As if on cue, two blue macaws and three small macaws flew out of the crowd of fighting birds and cats and headed towards the trailer while two lighter blue birds with grey heads and a chain between them ran out of the crowd of fighting cats and birds after the five Spix macaws. However, as Blu and Jewel flew for the trailer, a cat paw appeared and snatched their chicks right out of the air. Otis had managed to grab Carla, Bia and Tiago and was cackling evilly. Blu and Jewel, at this, stopped and upon seeing the black and white cat hold their crying babies in his paws, were immediately set ablaze with rage. With an angry squawk each, the two flew at Otis and tackled him.

"Let our three kids go, you FELINE MENACE!" screeched Blu as he sent Otis flying and releasing Carla, Bia and Tiago in the process. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli jumped out of the way in time and continued running for the trailer with Rafael, Nico and Pedro's help. Then Blu and Jewel flew off after Otis and began to viciously claw and bite him. As Nico, Pedro and Rafael helped Pluto and Lapis Lazuli into the trailer, Veggie managed to round up the frightened Carla, Bia and Tiago and place them together. Then seconds later, Blu and Jewel appeared and landed beside their kids. The group was out of breath after that fight and were even more relieved that the car had started up and had moved away.

"Boy, that was close," gasped Jupiter, "At least we had backup."

"Yeah," said Mercury as he sat next to Sapphire. Nico and Pedro then smiled.

"Did you see Jewel with Muscles' girlfriend, you lot?" said Nico, "They were amazing together."

Ruby smiled shyly until she realised what Nico had called her.

"I am not Jupiter's girlfriend," she snapped.

"But you danced very well with him, baby bird," said Pedro. He then eyed Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto and their respective counterparts and said, "All of you did."

"Yeah, I guess so," said Zephyr.

"But when those cats arrived," said Saturn, "Everything was interrupted."

"You're not kidding," snarled Jewel as she hugged Carla, Bia and Tiago who were still shaken, "Now we see why those cats were eager on catching us."

"I knew I had a feeling that they were going to come after you," said Veggie.

"Well, at least we all stood together against them," said Jupiter, "We might have to continue doing that until those smugglers are caught."

"Huh, not everyone stood against them," muttered Lapis Lazuli and with that, she eyed Pluto with a look of disapproval. Pluto looked back with an ashamed look on his face.

"Where were you while the rest of us fought?" asked Mars with a frown. Pluto, at this, didn't answer.

"Don't you realise how much you would have helped us by fighting alongside us?" asked Jupiter firmly, "Honestly, your friends were in danger. Ruby had to risk herself getting caught and even hurt to save Jewel and her kids."

Ruby nodded in agreement. Pluto then spoke.

"I..." he began, "I don't like violence. It scares me."

"Well that's not an excuse to run into hiding, Pluto," said Neptune firmly, "True violence is a terrible thing but sometimes is a last resort of defence."

"Yeah, what if a predator threatened you or something?" asked Veggie with a frown. Pluto said nothing. Lapis Lazuli, at this, made an angry growl.

"I have no use for cowards," she snarled, "When the flying foxes attacked my tribe, I was forced to flee by myself when one of my tribe-mates my age and close to me FLED AND DID NOTHING TO RESCUE ME!"

And with that, she slammed a wing on the side and turned her back on Pluto. Pluto felt a wave of guilt splash over him.

"I..." he began, "I'm sorry."

"You must learn to defend yourself at some point, Pluto," said Jupiter, "Otherwise, you might never learnt o defend yourself at all."

"Yeah, especially with those smugglers' cats hot on our tail," said Veggie, "And they will stop at nothing to catch us, especially you and Lapis Lazuli since you two are the last pair of glaucous macaws alive."

"Yes," said Travis, "And one of these days, you will have to defend Lapis Lazuli, even if it means risking serious injury or even your life."

"Think how Blu had to risk his life to save Jewel, for instance," said Sunset. Pluto turned and looked at Blu and Jewel who looked back at him with frowns.

"I agree," said Rafael, "What is love if you don't show it in your actions?"

Pluto sighed and then sat down with his head bowed in guilt.

"Well, apart from Pluto's cowardice," said Nico with a smile, "At least everyone else did very well."

"Yeah, especially during that dance," said Pedro.

Veggie laughed and said, "And Ceres dancing like Michael Jackson to your song, I'll never forget that at all."

"Yeah, she were ace," said Pedro much to Ceres's amusement, "As was the rest of you macaws."

The other animals apart from Pluto smiled and tittered in amusement. Then the car and trailer on which the group was on disappeared down the street.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20- Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake discover the smugglers' hideout**

Meanwhile, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake continued their journey with Jack and Jill and their cat Catina down to the place where Jack and Jill believed Susan and company's pets alongside the female Lear's macaw, the two Spix macaws and the female glaucous macaw were kept. It had taken a while for Francisco to drive his jeep through the cluttered street filled with people and some vehicles, but in the end the group managed to arrive outside the building.

"There it is," said Jack with a point of his finger at the building. Francisco immediately reversed the jeep into a nearby open space and pulled up. As soon as he had done that, the group of humans and calico cat disembarked. Jack, Jill and Catina led the way to the front door of the house. As they peered in through a broken window to make sure no-one was inside, Drake, Blake and Jake were repulsed by the ramshackle appearance of the place especially its broken windows. As the triplets observed the poor condition and the disrepair of the building, Jack opened the door and led the group inside.

"This way," he said as he and Jill ran through the door, followed by Catina. Francisco, Susan, Lucy and their triplet cousins followed. Francisco looked around.

"If this is the hideout of the second group of smugglers," he said, "I'm calling the police to close off this place."

Jack and Jill then went through two more doors and then into the storeroom. However, to their utter dismay, it was empty with nothing more than empty cages lying around in the place! Jack, Jill and Catina looked around in disbelief. Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake entered the room as the twins and their calico cat continued looking around at the empty cages.

"Wha-!?" asked Jack, "B-b-b-but they were in here including those three Spix macaws, two glaucous macaws and two Lear's macaws, that tabby cat, two cockatoos and greyhound. But now they're..."

"Where could they go?" asked Jill. Catina then inspected some of the cages and shook her head in disbelief. Those birds and that cat and dog can't have escaped, surely. Francisco then put on a stern face as the twin brother and sister turned and looked at him, their tongues stuck in their mouths for they were unsure of what to say.

"Don't tell me this is some kind of practical joke, you two," Francisco said in a serious voice.

"No, sir," said Jack with a shake of his head, "These birds... they were in here, honest..."

"In here?" asked Susan, "How do you know they were in here?"

"Alongside our two cockatoos, cat and greyhound?" added Drake. Lucy, Blake and Jake also gave Jack and Jill the same questioning look. Jack and Jill then felt guilt bloom within them. They had been hiding that they were the ones who had taken Susan and company's pets and the other birds from Tulio's Aviary the other night the whole time, as well as how they had handled them. Now it was time to let it out.

"Because..." said Jack reluctantly but guiltily, "We took them."

This was met by disbelieving faces.

"What!?" snapped Susan.

"What do you mean?" asked Lucy.

"We were the ones who sneaked into Tulio's Aviary with a group of cats," explained Jill in admission, "and had captured all of those birds, including those seven valuable birds, and caged them. The tabby cat, greyhound and two cockatoos were captured later."

As she said this, Catina felt a wave of guilt splash over her as she remembered fighting Veggie and restraining him when he tried rescuing the birds during the chaos Dash had whipped up for the smugglers and their cats. Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake looked at the twins in shock for a few seconds before looks of anger and upset finally took over their faces for they deduced that Jack and Jill had also taken Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres alongside Mercury, Venus and Pluto during their robbery on Tulio's Aviary.

"Don't tell me you've just stuffed our hyacinth macaw Neptune into one of those small cages, have you!?" asked Drake angrily and tearfully, his eyes beginning to leak tears, "Because you know how small cages are not suitable for big birds like him."

At this, Blake picked up one of the cages and widened his eyes in horror at how small it was. He was also horrified to see that the other cages, apart from a small number, were also very small. Way too small for a hyacinth macaw to be stuffed into. Jack and Jill struggled to choose words in their reply to Drake's question and just bowed their heads in shame at Drake's distress about how they treated Neptune.

"We did, yes. We did the same to the other hyacinth macaw," murmured Jack guiltily and in admission, a tear running down his cheek. At this, Francisco came forward and put a firm hand on Jack's shoulder, an angry look on his face.

"You both are going to be done for theft and animal cruelty, you two," he said sternly. Jill then looked at the ornithologist pleadingly.

"But sir, we were forced into doing it," she begged but Francisco shook his head.

"That's not an excuse, young lady," he said seriously, "You should never, ever shove a bird into a cage that is too small for them. It could seriously injure them. I just hope that when we do find those captured birds, both hyacinth macaws are alright but if I find that either of them has suffered serious injuries, you both are going to face serious consequences."

"Yeah," said Blake with a frown and in agreement as he held one of the cages, "These cages are fitter for small birds and hamsters than large macaws."

"I agree with Francisco, you could, perhaps, fracture a wing or inflict some other injury on them if you treat them like that," added Lucy.

"Not to mention lack of room for them to move about in," said Susan. Jack and Jill then both bowed their heads in shame again and begun crying while Catina lowered her head and ears as well. Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps and talking, alongside the sounds of a door opening and closing, emitted from through the door to the storeroom. This made Francisco's head pop up as the sounds reached his ears. He immediately grabbed Susan and Lucy by the arms and dived with them behind a large stack of cages and crates, Blake, Drake and Jake following him, leaving Jack, Jill and Catina standing there, confused. A few moments later, the door to the storeroom opened and through it, poked the heads of a man and a woman with four cats standing around their feet. These four cats had opted to stay behind to help their owners while the rest of the cat group were out hunting for birds to catch and cage. When the woman saw Jack, Jill and Catina, her eyes were filled with surprise.

"Jack, Jill, Catina," she said in shock, "What are you three doing in the storeroom?"

"Hi, Vera," said Jack innocently as though nothing had happened. Jill also put on a smile and raised her hand to wave. As she did this, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake watched from behind the stack of cages and crates, being very careful not to make any sudden movements which would make a sound loud enough to give their position away to the criminals. Then the man walked up to the twins.

"Where have you and your calico been all along, you two?" he asked with a frown.

"Oh, um..." said Jack. Then Jill managed to quickly formulate a story before any suspicion was roused.

"Taking a walk, Marvin," she lied to cover up the fact that she, Jack and Catina had been helping Francisco, Susan and company to find this place, "We felt that we wanted to get out of this place so we just went for a walk."

Marvin, at this, narrowed his eyes. Vera and the four cats just looked on and said nothing. Then Marvin cleared his throat and said, "Well, stop slacking off and start contributing more to the team, you both. Frank will need every hand and paw available to get those birds caught and smuggled to the airport."

"Will we be going through Carnival?" asked Jill. Marvin shook his head.

"No," he replied, "It's just too risky, especially with the number of police on the increase. However, Frank and Luke have managed to find two large trucks with cloaks over their trailers, so we're going to sneak those captured birds to the airport right under the noses of those police."

Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake continued watching.

"Police?" repeated Jack.

"Yes," snapped Vera annoyed, "There are police everywhere throughout the city, so it's important that we get as many birds as possible caught and smuggled to the airport as soon as possible."

"Soon, it will come to a point in which it will be impossible to sneak by those police officers," said Marvin, "So it's important that we get this job done urgently."

He then looked back at Vera and said, "Have our other cats caught those seven macaws and the Spix macaw family yet, Vera?"

"No, but I hope they do catch them and soon," said Vera, "Frank's getting quite impatient. I just hope our cats do a great job in catching those valuable macaws including that Spix macaw family of five..."

Francisco's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in horror when he heard Vera say this.

"The Spix macaw family?" he said a low voice, "We cannot allow those criminals to catch the Spix macaw family and smuggle them out of Brazil."

"Anyway, let's get a move on," said Marvin, "We've no time for this chatting."

He then turned to Jack and Jill and said, "You two."

With that he pointed a finger to the twins while the four cats surrounded Catina.

"Let's get out of here and get prepared to meet our other cats for they will need our help to load those birds onto the trucks," Marvin said, "We could do with two extra pairs of human hands lent in the job."

Jack and Jill sighed and reluctantly followed Marvin and Vera while Catina and the other four cats followed. Catina looked behind at the rather dark storeroom.

"Catina," said one of the cats. The calico obeyed and rushed off after the four humans and Vera closed the door as soon as she had made sure that the storeroom was empty. Thankfully she did not see the six humans concealed behind the stack of cages and crates. As soon as the group of criminals had disappeared, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake and Jake emerged from their hiding place. Francisco looked worried.

"We can't have those smugglers going after Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago," he said, "We have to ring Tulio right away."

He then turned to Susan and company and said, "You five get back to the jeep. I'm going to ring Tulio."

And with that, Francisco fumbled in his pockets for his mobile phone while Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake and Jake hurried off back to the jeep outside. As the five left and got into the jeep, which fortunately had not been seen by the group of smugglers as they left, Blake looked uneasy.

"Tulio's not going to like this news when Francisco tells him," he told the other four.

"I'm not surprised," said Susan, "His team must have worked ever so hard to get Blu and Jewel to breed."

"They're the only breeding pair of Spix macaws in the world as well," said Lucy, "If those smugglers catch them and smuggle them out of Brazil, the ornithologists' efforts on preserving the Spix macaw species are going to be put to waste."

"Not to mention the effect that would have in the Spix macaw species itself," said Drake, "If Blu and his family are taken out of Brazil and our Spix macaw Venus does not breed with the male, then the whole species would be gone alongside the Lear's and the glaucous macaws."

"By that you mean Pluto, Mercury and the female glaucous and female Lear's macaws?" asked Jake. Drake, with a dark look on his face, nodded.

Then the five continued to wait until Francisco appeared. A while later he did so after leaving the building.

"What did Tulio say?" asked Susan.

"Tulio has told me that he is going to send some police down to close off this place, Susan," replied Francisco, "This is definitely the hideout of the second group of smugglers and their cats. I could tell by the cages in one of the rooms and secondly we've seen what I believe are two of the members of the group. I've told Tulio about them as well as their names. Furthermore, we're going to be travelling with Tulio, Linda and Fernando in a police car and we're going to try and find those birds including your nine macaws, two cockatoos and that tabby cat and greyhound, so Tulio will be coming to meet us here. I will be driving the jeep."

He then sighed and put his face in his hands.

"I just hope we find those birds before those smugglers take them to the airport," he muttered, "Especially those invaluable birds and Blu and his family."

"Why are Blu and his family a target?" asked Drake.

"The Spix macaw is a critically endangered macaw on the brink of extinction second only to the glaucous macaw," said Francisco, "There are only eight surviving individuals including your pet Venus. In the eyes of the smugglers as I've told you before, such birds have a huge price tag on them. Blu and his family would be worth a fortune if they are ever caught and sold over the black market."

Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake and Drake looked on worried.

"That's why we've got to hunt down those smugglers and catch them before they succeed in their plans," said Francisco, "But it is not going to be an easy task, especially with it being Carnival a few days away, and the main roads will be closed off by now."

The other five humans looked on as Francisco then rubbed his face with his hands again and sighed worriedly.

Back at the location of the Paradise club, there was carnage. The tent that served as a cover for the club was fallen and there were trash, crates, feathers and fruit everywhere. Dotting the wreckage were dizzy, weary and battered and bruised cats. Some of them were covered in fruit while some were covered in scratches and grazes. The cats that had been thrown into the crates of fruit have struggled out of the pile. One cat with a pineapple shoved over its upper body struggled to walk straight and kept bumping into things. Among the mess and weary cats, Otis was struggling to stay on his feat. He was covered in bite and claw marks and bald patches where fur had been torn out. Some of the cats that held cages were also dizzy and there were also a few cages scattered amongst the wreckage. While Otis and his group tried sorting themselves out, another group of cats appeared. In front of them was a Russian grey cat with fierce brown eyes. When Brutus scanned the wreckage, he was horrified to see the battered and bruised cats until his eyes landed on Otis. At this, he bounded over to him and grabbed his head with his front paws.

"What happened, Otis?" he demanded. Otis wearily looked up at Brutus and winced in pain.

"Er... we... um..." he murmured but he was in too much pain to answer. Brutus sighed and released Otis. Then the cat with the pineapple over its head came by, struggling to shift the fruit off its head. Brutus, seeing this, immediately hooked his front paws on the edges of the pineapple and pulled with all his might. The pineapple slipped off and Brutus tossed the empty shell of the fruit aside.

"Ugh, thanks, Brutus," said the cat as it brushed off the flesh and seeds from its fur, "I hate the taste of pineapples."

The other cats that came with Brutus helped it brush off more flesh and seeds.

"Can one of you tell me what happened here?" asked Brutus impatiently. Then one of the cats that had a cage, a male white Persian, leaped over to him to explain.

"We did try and catch that group of birds including that Spix macaw family and the seven invaluable birds," he said, "But they outwitted us and escaped. Otis tried grabbing the three baby Spix macaws but he was viciously attacked by their parents."

"They were aggressive, honestly," muttered Otis as he winced in pain from his injuries. When Brutus heard that Blu and his family and the other seven valuable macaws had managed to escape Otis and his group's attempt to catch them, he lost his temper.

"WHAT!?" he yelled. The cats of Otis's subgroup flinched and backed away as Brutus began to boil in anger.

"But you cats are sly enough to prevent that from happening," yelled Brutus, "You know what that means? It means more time in locating and catching those birds, and we might not have that time at all!"

He then leaped up onto a pile of discarded metal cans and crates and continued, "Frank wants those twelve birds caught and brought to him as soon as possible and we don't have time for this cat-and-mouse palaver. I've just had a call from Claude and his group and he told me that our owners are ready to transport the birds to the airport due to police on the increase. If we don't get those twelve invaluable macaws caught and brought to Frank in time, we never will."

The other cats listened as Brutus then calmed down and jumped down from the pile of crates and tin cans.

"But at least you've tried your best," he said in a calmer voice, "But we MUST get all twelve of those macaws caught, including that breeding pair of Spix macaws and their three chicks."

He then whistled to get all the cats of Otis's group's attention. All the cats managed to recover from their battered and stunned states and walked over to Brutus. Otis did the same despite his injuries, especially the scratches and bite marks Blu and Jewel had inflicted on him.

"Right, everyone, listen up," said Brutus. All cat ears locked onto Brutus.

"Here's what we're going to do," continued Brutus, "We're going to finish catching as many birds as possible and then get ready to meet Frank and our other owners as soon as our job is done. Frank and Luke have stolen two trucks with cloaks which we will use to smuggle the birds to the airport where we will load our catch onto a plane. However, we must get this job done fast as we don't have much time. I'm going to send a few cats out to locate those twelve macaws including the Spix macaw family again and hopefully, we'll get them caught without fail this time. Do you cats understand what we've got to do?"

The other cats including Otis nodded. Brutus smiled.

"Right then," he called, "Let's MOVE OUT!"

And with that the group of cats all left the remains of the fallen bird club and left for somewhere else.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21- Meeting Luiz and Ginger, freeing Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, Ruby's secret revealed**

Back with Jupiter and company, the car and its trailer in which they had hitched a ride continued driving down some roads. It was the afternoon and the sun had passed its highest midday point in the sky. The group was doing nothing other than waiting until the car stopped. Veggie and Dash were simply observing the Brazilian buildings as they flowed by while the birds just laying around, talking or just staring into space. Uranus looked at the sky overhead.

"Is it the afternoon already?" he asked, "I can't believe how fast time has gone."

Jupiter then managed to get a glimpse of a large clock as the car and trailer drove on. Due to him being a pet for the first fifteen years of his life, Jupiter and the other domesticated macaws had learned to tell time by reading the position of the hands on clocks. Blu had also learned this ability.

"If I were to answer that question, Uranus," said Jupiter, "Yes it is."

Uranus smiled and then continued admiring the scenery.

"How do you know when it is morning or afternoon just by looking at those circle things with the squiggles and two sticks?" asked Ruby.

"Those things are what humans call clocks, Ruby," said Jupiter, "During our life as domestic birds, we have picked up the ability to tell time by looking at clocks and also at electronic things humans call digital clocks which displays time in the form of a number."

"Interesting," said Orquidea, "As wild macaws, we have absolutely no idea what those pictures arranged in a circle with those two stick things pointing to them mean."

"Those stick things are called hands," explained Mars, "One is longer than the other is short. The long hand is called the minute hand while the shorter hand is called the hour hand. From the positioning of these hands, humans tell time."

"So it seems that humans have invented some rather interesting things," said Zephyr, "I never knew humans could be so creative."

He and Brisa were sitting next to Ruby and Chiquitita without looking at them with a scowl of hatred, which the group was happy for since they appeared to have become friends. The dance at Nico and Pedro's club and their working together to fend off the cats seemed to have melted the cold enmity Zephyr, Brisa, Chiquitita and Ruby had for each other initially. Sapphire and Esmeralda also appeared to have become friends.

"Humans are good at building things called devices and vehicles," said Veggie, "As well as electronics. The name of inventing and producing electronic things and vehicles is called technology."

He then eyed Blu with a smile and said, "And being a nerd bird, I suppose Blu should have some good knowledge on electronics."

"I do to a degree" said Blu as he watched over Jewel as she stroked their three sleeping kids who have calmed down after that fight with the cats, "But I'm mostly more knowledgeable in the areas of nature and physics, but I do know how to operate moist human devices like computers and Ipads."

"What's an Ipad?" asked Sapphire.

"They're flat rectangular things with a variety of functions," said Dash, "The image is interactive just with the touch of a finger. Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake, our owners, have one such device."

"Well, if humans are so inventive," said Esmeralda with a frown, "Then they're also so destructive. They seemed to have invented machines to knock down trees and destroy us animals' homes..."

"That's the problem sadly," said Mercury, "Deforestation is one of the major contributing factors causing the vast reduction in populations and even extinction of various animal species."

"I agree," said Lapis Lazuli, "When my tribe used to live in that patch of trees that was suitable for us, loggers came with their monstrous machines and destroyed most of our trees. We were forced to abandon our habitat and relocate."

Pluto, who was still sulky for not participating in the fight against the cats earlier, just looked at Lapis Lazuli and then down at the floor of the trailer again. Then Jewel looked at Lapis Lazuli.

"Sorry if it seems that I'm a bit intrusive but I'm a bit curious about your history, Lapis," she said, "How did you end up separated from your tribe? Was it by that fire caused by loggers?"

"No, it wasn't Jewel," said Lapis Lazuli, "When that fire tore through the jungle, we took shelter on as large island in the middle of the Amazon River until the fire died down. However, some of our tribe members died. After that, we relocated and tried to settle in a patch of trees a few days later. However, four years after the fire we were suddenly and violently attacked by a flock of flying foxes one day."

"Flying foxes?" repeated Jewel, "Ugh, pesky winged furballs, those creatures. They've been known to despise us birds and drive out bird tribes and clans."

"Our tribe was one of them," said Lapis Lazuli, "It happened when I was an adolescent, almost a young adult. As those flying foxes attacked us, I and another glaucous macaw, who was my boyfriend named Rodrigo, were separated from the others in the chaos."

As she said this, Pluto looked up.

"You had a boyfriend?" he asked.

"He was my childhood friend," said Lapis Lazuli, "We've been friends since we were chicks. He eventually became my boyfriend shortly after my fourth birthday and I thought he would be caring of me such as being willing to protect me whenever I am in danger. However, that was shattered when we were chased by several flying foxes after we were separated from our tribe."

"Good grief," gasped Blu in shock, "How big were those bats?"

Lapis Lazuli extended a wing to Jupiter and said, "About as big as Jupiter or around half way between your height and Neptune and Ultramarine's. Their wingspan was also as large as theirs or larger, about one to two metres."

At this, Neptune fully opened his wings to observe his wingspan.

"My wingspan's probably about more than a metre," he said.

"Yeah, their wings are around that length," said Lapis Lazuli. Neptune then closed his wings and sat back beside Ultramarine.

"Massive creatures, those winged furballs," said Ruby darkly, "And also very savage. When Chiquitita and I were chicks alongside our friends such as my sister Pearl and friend Felipe, Meia-Noite's parents told us during their visit to our tribe, the red macaws that those bats had violently driven out a toucan clan. Meia-Noite's parents had been the Bluewing hyacinth clan's leaders at the time. When Meia-Noite's parents visited the toucan clan's territory..."

She then walked towards Lapis Lazuli to whisper what she was about to say next, concerned that Blu and Jewel's chicks might hear it.

"...they found nothing but carnage with dozens of toucan bodies everywhere on the forest floor," she whispered to Lapis Lazuli much to her horror, "I can't describe to you how horrifying the scene was but it was totally gruesome."

"Good grief," whispered Lapis Lazuli in shock. Ruby nodded with a frown.

"So yeah, those bats are violent when they drive out bird tribes and clans," she said as she returned to her spot near Jupiter, "And after they have driven out those poor flocks, they take over their land to populate and live in."

"They're nasty pieces of work, honestly," said Jewel darkly, "Daddy was almost attacked by a group when he was out with a group of green macaws one day when I was a chick..."

She then began to shed a tear as she remembered her apparently deceased dad. Ruby looked at her sympathetically.

"You miss your family, don't you?" she said. Jewel nodded as Blu put a wing around her back to comfort her. Ruby sighed as well.

"I miss my family too," she murmured, "My sister Pearl, Mom, Dad, Felipe..."

"I agree," said Chiquitita. Jupiter looked at the two red macaws sympathetically as Lapis Lazuli resumed her story.

"Anyway, back to my story," said the female glaucous macaw, "While we were chased by that group of flying foxes, two of those massive bats managed to separate us and I was cornered by one against a tree..."

She then shuddered and continued in a strangled voice, "A-a-and while I was being cornered by one, Rodrigo, who had managed to shake off his pursuers, hovered there and saw me in danger. I begged for him to..."

She then sniffled and continued, "H-h-help me but... but..."

A tear fell from her eye as she began to cry.

"Go on," said Pluto. However, some of them, including Blu and Jewel, had already deduced what Lapis Lazuli was about to say before she even said it.

"He just hovered there, fear in his eyes," murmured Lapis Lazuli, "And then he just fled just as one of the flying foxes struck me with its wing. I was forced to flee those remaining flying foxes alone and after I had managed to shake them off, I was lost... and alone..."

She then cried. The others looked at her sympathetically.

"Had Rodrigo just come and either tackled those bats away and/or rescue me," murmured Lapis Lazuli, "I wouldn't have ended up lost. He was such a coward, he was."

She then shot Pluto a glare and continued, "That's why I said, 'I have no use for cowards', because Rodrigo was downright selfish just to leave me to face those bats alone..."

She then wept as the feeling of utter betrayal poured out of her heart. Blu just stared at her with brown eyes full of sympathy.

"If I were in her boyfriend's place and Jewel in Lapis's places, I'd rather attack those bats to save Jewel rather than leave her to fend for herself and fleeing to save my own skin," he said. Jewel just looked at him with a slight smile.

"Huh, falling off that human's flying thing to your likely death for your love is courageous enough as it is," muttered Lapis Lazuli, "You ought not to find yourself face to face with those big bats. They're very savage. Even hyacinth macaws often don't stand a chance against those bats, especially a group of them."

Neptune and Ultramarine just looked at her while Sunset and Travis kept their eyes wide and crests partially raised in shock. Dash then turned to Rafael, Nico and Pedro and asked, "So, are we almost at Luiz's yet?"

"Almost," said Rafael. Pluto sighed and looked at the chain linking him to Lapis Lazuli.

"Don't worry, that'll be off soon," said Ceres nearby reassuringly.

"I'll be glad to get this thing off," said Pluto, "It's been a hindrance to us since those wretched poachers put it on."

"Yeah, restrictive, made movement difficult," muttered Lapis Lazuli, "I can't wait to get this metal piece of junk off."

"Neither can we," said Jupiter as he looked at the glinting chain, "I can never tell what it is used for anyway?"

"Maybe it's supposed to stop a bird from flying away?" asked Blu.

"I don't know but it's certainly not good for chaining birds together," said Veggie with a frown.

"Absolutely not," said Jupiter in agreement. The car and trailer continued driving on until it finally turned into the street Rafael recognised that it was the exact street Luiz's workshop, also called a garage, was located. As the car pulled up beside the footpath (sidewalk in America), the group of animals all disembarked the trailer and rushed into hiding before the driver could spot them. After they had made sure that the driver had not seen them, Rafael, Nico and Pedro came out and walked towards the door of the workshop. Jupiter and the others including Blu, Jewel and their chicks followed.

"This, folks," said Rafael with a gesture of his wing, "Is Luiz's garage."

Jupiter walked towards the door with the others behind him and looked at in awe. The door resembled a large black pair of gate doors and above the doorway was a sign which read 'Mecanico', which Jupiter assumed was Spanish or Brazilian Portuguese for 'Mechanic'. There were a couple of tires laying to the right of the doorway into the garage and there was also a sign attached to the right post of the door. This sign was circular with a red border and a line through it. Its background was white and an 'E' was written behind the red line. Jupiter didn't recognise it but he assumed it to be some sort of prohibitive sign similar to a certain English sign that had a 'P' behind the red line.

"What's that thingy?" asked Esmeralda.

"It's a 'no parking' sign," explained Blu who was an expert on human things, "In some countries, humans use picture signs for roads to communicate rules and warnings to vehicle drivers."

"In the UK, for example," explained Veggie, "A triangular sign with a red outline means 'warning: potential hazard ahead', with the hazard being described with a picture. A plus shape, for example, means crossroads, so a triangular sign with the plus shape in it means 'warning: crossroads ahead'. But there are other shaped signs, mainly circles and rectangles. Circular signs give orders while rectangular signs are informative."

"Interesting," said Orquidea.

"It sounds complicated," said Ruby with a slight frown.

"We've lived as human's pets for the past fifteen years," said Neptune, "So we're familiar with human things."

"I'm not surprised," said Jewel, "Blu's a real expert in human things."

"Eh-hem," Rafael grunted to get the group's attention, "Are we gonna enter Luiz's garage then or what?"

At this, the group walked towards the door and then entered it a few at a time. As the group entered the garage, they were greeted with a spacious room filled with all kinds of tools, tires and machines. A car and what appeared to be oil containers were also present. Rafael, Nico and Pedro flew ahead to call out Luiz.

"Hey, Luiz," called Rafael, "Come on out. We've got a group of birds that need your help."

As the group continued walking along, Venus asked Blu, "What type of dog is Luiz?"

"He's a bulldog," replied Blu, "And if we're lucky we might meet Ginger as well. She's staying here for a while until she gets a home."

"Does this Luiz have owners?" asked Mars who walked alongside Chiquitita. Blu was about to answer when suddenly, the sounds of Rafael's and another animal's voices filled the air.

"Hey, Rafy," said the other voice, "How are you doin'?"

"Hey there, Luiz," said Rafael's voice, "Good to see you again."

Nico and Pedro then appeared and hovered around the macaws, cockatoos, Veggie and Dash.

"Here dey come," said Nico. Then as if on cue, Rafael emerged from behind the car with a brown and white dog. True to what Blu said, Luiz was a bulldog. He had a bulky appearance like all bulldogs. His legs and body had a stocky build and his head was large. Luiz's build was quite a contrast to the slender build of Dash in his legs and body. Most of Luiz's fur was white and he had large brown patches on his head and body but he did have one quite grotesque feature, he was drooly. Some of the members of the group winced slightly in revulsion at the sight of Luiz's drooling mouth.

"I know some dog breeds have a drooling problem," muttered Sunset, "But I didn't know this one did."

"Drooling dogs aren't very hygienic, are they?" muttered Ruby. Rafael then led Luiz to Jupiter and his group and gestured to them in introduction.

"This," said Rafael, "Is Jupiter and his group."

Luiz, at this, widened his drooly mouth into a smile.

"Is it now?" he said cheerfully, "Well, I'm glad to meet ya."

He then turned to Blu and Jewel and admired their three chicks.

"And I see you've been busy in raisin' your three little 'uns," said Luiz, "How are they doin'? Growin' big and strong, are they?"

"They indeed are," said Jewel, "Their personalities are starting to show."

"Carla is developing an interest in music," said Blu, "Bia's taken a like in science, particularly nature, and Tiago's a little rascal."

"Are they, now?" said Luiz with a smile, "Well I'm glad to hear that they are doin' just fine."

Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago smiled at this statement. Then Luiz turned his attention to the others present. When he saw Venus, Zephyr and Brisa, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait a minute," he said in wonder, "Are those three Spix macaws like Blu and Jewel?"

Zephyr rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "What does it look like?"

"Yes we are," muttered Brisa. Luiz then walked over to the three and examined them closely.

"Interesting," he said, "I always thought that Blu and his family are the last of the five Spix macaws left alive on planet Earth, but apparently not."

"It came as both a shock and a surprise to the ornithologists when they found Zephyr and Brisa," said Mars, "At first they thought they'd be a breeding pair but when they found out that they were brother and sister, they began to search high and low for a macaw that wasn't so closely related to them."

"That is one of the reasons why we had to travel here from London," said Uranus. Zephyr and Brisa looked at Uranus with a slight glare.

"At least those humans finally know that we're not a breeding pair," muttered Zephyr in distaste. Luiz then browsed the other macaws, Travis, Sunset, Dash and Veggie and admired how diverse in species the group was. When his eyes moved over Mercury and Sapphire, Luiz smiled with intrigue.

"Wait a minute," he said, "I've never seen macaws like you before. What sort of bird species are you?"

"We're Lear's macaws," said Mercury.

"Not a very common species of macaw in Brazil at all," said Sapphire.

"Really?" said Luiz, "I always thought that the only rare species of macaw is the Spix macaw."

He then looked at Pluto and Lapiz Lazuli and asked, "And what species of macaw are those two?"

"We're glaucous macaws," said Pluto.

"And the last two glaucous macaws on the planet," said Lapis Lazuli. Luiz's eyes widened in curiosity.

"Glaucous macaws?" he repeated.

"That species of macaw was believed to have gone extinct in the wild in the 1960s," explained Blu. "But all that changed after Lapis Lazuli was discovered and when Tulio alerted us that one of us was also a glaucous macaw," added Saturn.

"I see," said Luiz as he inspected Lapis Lazuli and Pluto closely, "I've never at all seen a glaucous macaw in my life."

"They are very valuable to conservationists," explained Veggie, "Tulio and his team were keen on those two breeding and saving their species from likely extinction."

Lapis Lazuli just rolled her eyes in annoyance at this. Luiz then backed away and smiled.

"Well it sure is nice to meet you lot," he said. He then eyed Dash, Veggie, Travis and Sunset.

"And those two must be cockatoos, am I right?" he said as he looked at Travis and Sunset.

"We are, yes," said Travis, "I'm a sulfur-crested and Sunset is a Major Mitchell's."

"Really?" said Luiz, "I've never seen a Major Mitchell's cockatoo before."

"Oh, they're very beautiful cockatoos, I think," said Dash, "They have an awesome crest. Solid red, yellow and pinkish white striped feathers."

"Visible only when I raise my crest," said Sunset.

"Mine is only a solid yellow colour," said Travis. Luiz smiled.

"Well, you sure seem like a nice and friendly sulfur-crested cockatoo," he said to Travis, "I know another sulfur-crested cockatoo that used to torture and abuse birds."

"Oh, that Nigel?" asked Jupiter.

"Yes," said Luiz, "I guess I oughta be glad that I haven't met him. He seemed like a nasty piece of work, he was."

"He certainly was," snarled Jewel, "He was an outright monster."

"But he's dead now," said Blu, "He died after hitting that propeller."

(This is obviously not true. Nigel actually survived). Luiz looked at the Spix macaw couple in agreement. Suddenly, a female voice shouted, "Luiz, who are you talking to?"

The unexpected new voice made the group jump and Jupiter's group to look around. However, Luiz, Rafael, Nico and Pedro were calm.

"That's Ginger," said Rafael, "She's that stray greyhound I told you guys about."

"Yeah, I found her resting outside the entrance to my garage," said Luiz, "So I offered her to stay here for a while."

As he said this, a ginger coloured greyhound emerged from behind a cluster of toolboxes. Luiz smiled at her.

"Oh, it's nothing imaginary, Ginger," he said, "Just talking to a group of newcomers and my old friends including Rafy, Blu and Jewel."

Then the female greyhound named Ginger walked towards the group. She was slender with long thin legs like all greyhounds. She was shorter than Dash and had entirely ginger coloured fur. Ginger's eyes were a shade of brown like Blu's eyes but slightly lighter, more like hazel. When Ginger saw the colourful crowd of animals, she smiled.

"Oh, sorry if I startled you," she said with a giggle, "I just wondered who Luiz was chatting to."

She then walked over to the group and sat down before them.

"And I can see the very famous last Spix macaws on the planet are with you," said Ginger as she looked at Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago. Blu smiled.

"Ah, we're not the last Spix macaws anymore, Ginger," he said, "Three more have been discovered."

And with that, he gestured to Zephyr, Brisa and Venus. Ginger's eyes widened in awe and amazement when she saw the trio.

"You're kidding;" she said, "I-I-I thought Blu and his family were the last of the Spix macaws."

"You should have read the posted articles," said Venus, "Zephyr and Brisa have been discovered a while ago and I'm the most recently discovered one."

"We actually thought that she, Mercury and Pluto were merely types of hyacinth macaws until Tulio opened our eyes to the fact that they are not," said Neptune. Ginger's eyes then travelled to Mercury, Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto.

"Mercury and Sapphire are ultra rare Lear's macaws," explained Jupiter, "While Pluto and Lapis Lazuli here are the last pair of glaucous macaws alive."

"Really?" replied Ginger in shock, "I thought the glaucous macaw is extinct."

"Oh, no," said Pluto, "Not yet, though."

Then Ginger saw a glint of something metallic between the two glaucous macaws. At this, she became curious.

"What is that?" she asked. Luiz also looked at it as Jupiter picked up the metal thing revealing it to be a chain.

"This is the reason why we've come here," explained Rafael, "It is to get that chain off of those two glaucous macaws."

Luiz then inspected it closely.

"Dis is the same sort of device that held Blu and Jewel together," he said, "We've gotta get this thing off."

"They've been suffering the same restrictions Blu and I had when we were chained together," said Jewel. As Luiz continued examining the chain, Lapis Lazuli backed away from the bulldog's drool as a drip grossly dribbled onto her foot.

"Will you not drool on me, it's revolting," she muttered as she brushed her foot repulsively of the saliva. This comment stung Luiz like a wasp, making him back away, hurt.

"I can't help it, miss," he muttered, "It's a medical condition."

He then turned away and bowed his head, offended. Rafael shot Lapis Lazuli a slight glare.

"You might want to watch your tongue, miss," he said in a stern voice. He then went over to Luiz to try and soothe his hurt feelings.

"I'll be right back," said Rafael, "Just continue talking to Ginger."

He then led Luiz away to soothe him. Ginger watched the bulldog and toucan leave.

"It's just one of those things that some dog breeds have that drooling trait," she said. She then turned her attention back to the chain between Pluto and Lapis Lazuli.

"By the way," she said, "How did those two end up chained together?"

"It's kind of a long story," said Jupiter, "But we'll try to shorten it."

And with that, he launched into a summarised explanation of how Pluto and Lapis Lazuli had been chained together. He told Ginger about the second group of smugglers and that they were assisted by cats led by a violent Russian grey apparently named Brutus, how many of the birds including Jupiter himself ended up grounded from being handled so roughly that some suffered sprained wings, and how the group was forced to flee that psychotic cat Brutus and some other things including Jupiter's near-fatal fight with Brutus resulting in him suffering a scratch on his flank and torn out feathers from his left wing, rendering Jupiter unable to fly at all.

"They're hot on our tails, honestly," said Jupiter darkly, "And they're also after Blu and his family due to them being the only family of Spix macaws on the planet..."

Ginger's eyes widened in horror and astonishment as the information entered her head.

"But how can that be?" she asked, "The smugglers have been caught."

"Well, apparently, this second group must have somehow got established behind the ornithologists' backs," said Dash, "And instead of a cockatoo like the first group, their assistant pets are cats."

"Well, by the sounds of it, they certainly are a serious problem," said Ginger. She then sighed and said, "You know something, there are some very cruel humans out there."

"We couldn't agree more on that," muttered Mars.

"Some don't even care about the environment they are destroying for their own selfish gain," muttered Chiquitita. Ginger then looked at Sapphire and said, "You know something, your appearance reminds me of another macaw with head feathers like that."

"Really?" asked Sapphire. As Ginger said this, Jewel began to have flashbacks about her life in the Spix macaw tribe before a fire tore through the jungle and separated her from them.

"He was a blue macaw, like Blu and Jewel," said Ginger, "And both him and me, we had the same owner, a young girl and only daughter of a married human couple. I was only a puppy at the time."

"You were owned with a blue macaw?" asked Venus in shock.

"What did he look like exactly?" asked Mercury.

"He had a mop of head feathers, like that Lear's macaw," said Ginger pointing to Sapphire with a paw, "But shorter. His eyes were blue and he had a stocky build."

These descriptions made Jewel begin to weep. However, at first none of the others noticed.

"But our owner was a terrible, terrible one," muttered Ginger, "Especially to that macaw. She often starved him or not fed him properly, didn't look after him properly nor let him out, and for the fun of it sometimes attacked him. That girl's parents had their backs turned while their daughter inflicted her abuse on us. She would often force feed crackers to the poor macaw and chant repeatedly, 'Polly wanna cracker? Polly wanna cracker?' and it really sent him mad sometimes."

"What was the name of the macaw?" asked Ceres.

"I can't even remember," said Ginger, "But he suffered terribly. I did too but to a lesser extent than what he suffered. However, I could not allow that wicked girl to continue abusing that poor macaw so I tried my best to feed him the proper fruit and to do that, I hunted for every scrap of fruit I could find to bring back to him. I was basically the only friend he had ever had during his time as a pet."

Ginger then became more sombre and continued, "And when things got really bad, I learned to operate the cage door and I just took him out and set him free, telling him to return to the wild where he belongs. After that, I ran away myself after hearing the girl cry and sob after she found her macaw missing, and I spent the next number of years as a stray dog living off garbage and sleeping in any shelter I could find and here I am."

As she finished this sad story, the others looked back at her sympathetically. Ruby, however, began to look troubled while Jewel looked teary.

"Oh, that's so sad," murmured Jupiter.

"The poor macaw," said Saturn. Ginger nodded in agreement.

"Ever since I released him, he just flew away, he somehow still knew how to fly, and that was the last time I had ever seen him," she said in a slight strangled voice. She then wiped her face with a paw as she shed a tear. Ceres then put her wings on her hips.

"Well, I have no sympathy for the girl who had abused that macaw and you," she growled, "She shouldn't have been so cruel to you two."

"Cruel? She shouldn't have been allowed to keep animals," said Cobalto with a frown.

"Were her parents aware that she was abusive to you and the macaw at all, Ginger?" asked Neptune. Ginger shook her head sadly.

"No they weren't," she said, "Whenever their back is turned; she always showed that abusive attitude toward us. Because of that, her parents didn't discipline her. That is what is so upsetting."

She then let a sob escape her throat. Ceres then put her wings on her hips and frowned.

"Well at least you managed to set the macaw free," she said, "But the way that girl has treated you and he was utterly depressing and disgusting."

"I agree," said Saturn, "God didn't intend us animals to be abused and mistreated like that."

"Absolutely not" said Jupiter. Then Mars saw Jewel look down with a sad look on her face.

"Hey, Jewel, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Jewel, are you okay?" asked Blu. Jewel looked up at him.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said, "Just... flashbacks of what I lost in the Amazon."

"Oh, your family and friends?" said Chiquitita, "I know how that feels..."

"Please, let's not talk about it," said Jewel, "It's too painful."

"Okay," said Jupiter. Then Veggie saw Ruby look troubled.

"Are you alright, Ruby?" he asked. Ruby just looked up at him and said nothing. Ginger looked on curiously.

"What is it? Is it about my backstory?" she asked. Just then, Rafael and Luiz returned after Rafael had soothed Luiz's hurt feelings after Lapis Lazuli's rather insensitive remark.

"Here dey come," said Pedro who stood with Nico nearby.

"Luiz is okay now," said Rafael, "Sorry about that, folks."

As the toucan and bulldog walked towards the group, Mars picked up the chain linking Pluto to Lapis Lazuli.

"So, you have any ideas on how to get this chain off our glaucous macaw friends?" he asked. Luiz looked at the silver thing.

"Hmm, this is definitely like the one that Blu and Jewel had," he said, "I think I might have the perfect solution."

However, Blu and Jewel doubted this as they knew what Luiz was referring to. Ceres walked backwards until she bumped into a can of oil, knocking off its top and causing some of the gooey stuff to drip onto her blue and yellow-ochre plumage. Ceres, with a twisted face of revulsion, backed away and tried to clean her wing feathers of the oil.

"If you're planning on using the buzzsaw to cut the chain like you did our one, Luiz," said Blu, "I don't think it's a good idea."

"Yeah, especially after we were almost killed by that sharp blade thing," said Jewel.

"Oh, come on, you two," said Rafael, "Luiz is an expert. He'll know what to do."

"Yeah, I'm good with mechanics," said Luiz insistently. Blu and Jewel, however, were adamant. Then Veggie threw in his vote against using the buzz saw to cut the chain holding Pluto and Lapis Lazuli together.

"I'm with Blu and Jewel on this one," he said, "I don't want to risk these two only existing glaucous macaws getting killed."

"Absolutely," said Jupiter. Pluto looked timidly at him and then back at Luiz.

"I honestly don't like the sound of using a circular saw to cut this chain," he said.

"Okay," said Rafael. He then turned to the others and asked, "Which of you guys are against Luiz using the buzz saw to cut the chain? Wings and paws up please."

Immediately, the wings of all the birds apart from Ceres shot up. Dash and Veggie put their paws up. Ginger also did the same to show that she agreed with Blu and Jewel. At this, Luiz looked a bit disappointed as Ceres then noticed how slippery the oil was. As she examined the slipperiness of the oil, an idea entered her head.

"Well, that's disappointing," said Luiz in a small voice. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli then sighed.

"There HAS to be another way to get this chain off our feet," muttered Pluto.

"Yeah, I can't stand to have this human thing on me any longer," added Lapis Lazuli.

"Well, there is no other way to get the chain off, you two," said Luiz, "The only thing that would do the trick is the buzz saw. It's worth giving it a try."

He then saw the disagreeing looks on the group's faces and sighed. Then Ceres piped in.

"Hey, wouldn't this slippery liquid do?" she asked. All eyes turned and looked at her.

"What?" asked Dash, "How?"

"What would that do?" asked Lapis Lazuli. Blu then came in and tested the slipperiness of the oil.

He then remembered how he and Jewel were freed from their chain seconds after a close brush with death with the circular saw.

"I know, why don't we smother Pluto and Lapis Lazuli's chained feet with this oil," he said to the others, "And then try and see if we could pull them through the cuffs?"

"What do you mean Blu?" asked Jewel. Blu then nodded to Luiz's saliva.

"Don't you remember when Luiz tried to cut our chain, Jewel?" asked Blu, "And we instinctively tried to escape it? Luiz's saliva must have allowed our feet to slip through our cuffs."

Jewel turned her head to one side confused at first. But then finally it clicked.

"Oh, I get it," she said, "Yeah, I remember now."

Jupiter then smiled and said, "Then let's give it a shot."

"What do you mean?" asked Pluto. Blu looked at him.

"We're going to make your talons slippery and then slip them out of the cuffs with the oil, Pluto," he explained. He then turned to Ceres and said, "Ceres here helped me to remember how Jewel and I were freed from our chain and it was through Luiz's drool so we're going to apply that idea with the oil."

"Oil," said Luiz, "I like that idea."

"Yeah," said Esmeralda, "It sounds safer than using that spinny blade thing you call a buzz saw."

"Then let's get to it," said Blu. Turning to Ceres and said, "You've just found a potential and safer alternative to get your glaucous macaw friends out of the chain, Ceres. You're a genius."

"Not as much as you, Blu," said Ceres with a smile. And with that, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were brought forward. Blu picked up a small cup and filled it with the oil. He then went over to the pair of glaucous macaws.

"Okay, who would like to go first?" asked Blu.

"You go first, Lapis," said Pluto, "Since you're the most desperate to get out of this chain."

"Why thank you, Pluto," said Lapis Lazuli and with that, she lifted her left foot. Orquidea and Saturn then held it steady while Lapis Lazuli was supported by Dash with his front paws. Luiz, Rafael, Nico, Pedro and Ginger looked on with Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago beside them.

"At least dis isn't as drastic as Blu and Jewel's situation," said Nico with a smile.

"Now, Lapis," said Blu, "It may feel a bit unpleasant at first but you'll be glad once you're free."

"Yeah, yeah, just get to it," muttered Lapis Lazuli. Blu then began to tip the cup of oil all over Lapis Lazuli's chained foot. Lapis Lazuli found the texture of the liquid rather wet but she did not make a repulsed face.

"This is the stuff humans use to power their cars and some other machines," explained Blu. Then as soon as he had poured enough oil over Lapis Lazuli's foot, Blu turned to Neptune.

"Alright, Neptune, I'd like you to pull on the chain but be gentle," said Blu. Neptune nodded and took hold of the chain with his large wings. He then began to gently tug on the chain while Saturn and Orquidea held Lapis Lazuli's leg still and also pulled the other way. Lapis Lazuli and the others looked on and held their breath to see if this idea would work. If it did not, then it might mean Lapis Lazuli and Pluto facing the buzz saw. Neptune continued pulling on the chain.

"It's slipping past Lapis's ankle," exclaimed Orquidea. Neptune continued gently pulling until a pop was heard. Neptune looked up and saw that the cuff was no longer attached to Lapis Lazuli's talon. Lapis Lazuli then stroked her talon and made a wide smile of relief and jubilation.

"It's off!" she exclaimed. The group cheered slightly. The idea was a success.

"Right, let's see to Pluto," said Blu and with that, Orquidea and Saturn released Lapis Lazuli's foot while Dash set Lapis Lazuli on the ground. The group went over to Pluto to repeat the process, leaving Lapis Lazuli to relish her first moments of being free for the first time in a day. Nico and Pedro flew over to her as she danced on the spot.

"How does it feel to be free, lil' Lapis?" asked Pedro.

"Excellente," said Lapis Lazuli in Spanish (English: excellent), "It feels so good to be by myself again."

"You have Ceres to thank," said Esmeralda, "She was the one who came up with the idea."

"Yeah, absolutely," said Lapis Lazuli. Just then, a small 'pop' was heard as Neptune had pulled the other cuff from Pluto's right leg after Blu had drenched it with oil. As soon as Neptune had pulled the chain off of Pluto's foot, he left to dispose of it.

"Wait, Neptune," said Ultramarine as he left, "Do you think that thing might come in handy in case we encounter those cats again?"

"I'm afraid it's out of the question, Ultramarine," said Neptune, "If those poachers get their hands on this thing, they'd chain Pluto and Lapis Lazuli together again, and I don't want that to happen."

And with that he left to get rid of the chain much to Ultramarine's slight disappointment but she finally agreed. Suddenly, a light teal-tinted turquoise and grey blur shot past as Pluto flew around, separate from Lapis Lazuli for the first time in hours, and whooping.

"I'm free, I'm free," he cried, much to the amusement of the others, "I don't have to worry about being restricted by a chain again."

Lapis Lazuli looked up at Pluto as he flew around some of the structures supporting the ceiling and then at her right wing. The scratch on her wing and chest seemed to have healed but it still made flying uncomfortable for Lapis Lazuli. Sighing, Lapis Lazuli folded her wing and walked away. Then as soon as the group had calmed down from the little celebration, Jupiter began to focus on the group's next big thing.

"Right, now that Pluto and Lapis Lazuli are free," he said, "It is time to return to our owners and Tulio's Aviary."

"Yeah," said Saturn, "It's getting dark outside. The sun's setting."

As he said this, Nico, Pedro, Luiz and Rafael looked at them in disappointment.

"Awww," said Nico, "But your Spix macaw friend Venus hasn't fallen in love with Zephyr yet."

"Neither have Pluto and Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire and Mercury," said Pedro.

"Look, we've been away from our owners long enough," said Jupiter, "Sorry to disappoint you but we have to return to Tulio's Aviary."

"Absolutely," said Veggie, "And I'd like to thank you for your help in getting us back to Rio and getting that chain off of Pluto and Lapis Lazuli but now it is time to focus on reuniting with Susan, Lucy and their triplet cousins Blake, Drake and Jake."

As Veggie said this, Ruby came by and looked at the group with a scowl on her face.

"And den what?" asked Nico, "Perhaps go back to London, the UK? But your Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaw friends belong here in Rio."

"Yeah," said Rafael, "Venus is Juliet to Zephyr's Romeo and the same applies to Sapphire with Mercury and Lapis Lazuli with Pluto, especially the latter."

"Look, I know you want Venus, Pluto and Mercury to pair up with Zephyr, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire respectively but they're not showing any signs of doing so," said Jupiter sadly, "And besides, they..."

"Um, Jupiter," said Veggie, "You'd better have a look over there."

At this, Jupiter, Saturn, Rafael, Nico, Luiz and Pedro followed Veggie's gaze and, to their shock, saw Sapphire gaze at Mercury as he prepared for the trip back to Tulio's Aviary. Based on the look on her face, she seemed disappointed. However there was something else tinting her blue eyes and she let loose a sigh as though saddened.

"Have you seen that look before?" asked Nico.

"Yes," said Rafael, "That might be a look of longing to be with someone. I've seen that look countless times before."

"I think it's more like sadness and disappointment that she'll be missing Mercury when we return to our owners," said Saturn.

"Well, even if Mercury doesn't pair up with Sapphire to breed," said Jupiter, "He's going to have to remain in Rio because of his species. The same applies to Venus and Pluto. As for the rest of us, we might be going back to London in England."

At this, heads turned and looked at him in shock.

"What?" asked Nico.

"Wha' did you say?" asked Pedro. Saturn then came forwards with a sad look on his face. Jupiter also looked a bit saddened.

"But we'll seriously miss Mercury, Venus and Pluto," said Saturn, "And they'll seriously miss us. Ever since we met as chicks, we have become like a family; almost like... brothers and sisters even though we're all a different species."

"That is true," murmured Jupiter. He also felt the thought of leaving Mercury, Venus and Pluto behind very depressing and upsetting. Ruby then let loose a growl of disgust.

"Huh, even though you might like your birdcage, human's pet," she growled, "I certainly won't."

Jupiter, at this, looked up at Ruby.

"I didn't say that, Ruby, I..." he said but Ruby cut him off and quickly paced towards him.

"Look, it seems that those five humans, Suzie and whoever the others are, have raised you and those other eight macaws, two cockatoos, that unusual cat and greyhound with love, care and may have even pampered and spoilt you," growled the angry female scarlet macaw, "And Blu seemed to have been spoilt by his owner too but me, I never had any of that."

"What do you mean, you've never had any of that?" asked Jupiter. Ruby just whipped round and stormed off.

"Every time I see other birds that have been raised by humans, especially with love and care, they make me JEALOUS AND DISGUSTED!" she shouted, "And I may surprise you but I was owned by humans too!"

Shock hit Jupiter, Saturn, Rafael, Nico, Pedro and Luiz as well as the rest of the group as they heard this and all eyes turned to Ruby. However, Chiquitita and Orquidea did not look surprised.

"You were a PET!?" asked Sapphire incredulously.

"But how could that be?" asked Esmeralda. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Uranus, Ceres, Neptune and Pluto, together with Dash, Veggie, Travis and Sunset also looked at Ruby in shock, as did Blu and Jewel as they were talking, and Lapis Lazuli, Zephyr, Brisa, Cobalto, Ginger and Ultramarine. Ruby just eyed everyone with yellow eyes mixed with anger, hatred and sadness.

"You lot have NO idea of what I've been through during my time as a pet," she cried, tears forming in her eyes, "Except Orquidea and Chiquitita."

And with that, she stomped off and stopped in a corner and began to cry. Jupiter continued to look on in disbelief.

"I-I-I don't get it," he said, "But her attitude sure is irritating. I'll be glad when we're back with Susan, Lucy, Blake Drake and Jake, and Tulio's Aviary."

As he said this, Orquidea and Chiquitita silently approached him with sorrowful looks on their faces.

"Jupiter, don't be prejudicial," said Chiquitita gently, "Ruby has had an awful experience as a pet."

"B-but why didn't you or she tell us?" asked Jupiter in shock.

"She found it too uncomfortable to talk about," said Orquidea, "Especially in front of Zephyr, Brisa and Jewel after what happened between them when they were chicks and before the fire tore through the jungle and separated us from our tribes and clans."

"But what did you mean that she had an awful experience as a pet?" asked Jupiter. Chiquitita then looked at Ruby as she sulked in the corner and said, "I tell you what, why don't you try and talk to her about it. She'll answer your questions as she's been through the ordeal all by herself as we're reluctant to talk about it with you behind her back."

At this, Jupiter looked at the sulking Ruby as he thought about this advice. Finally, he made his decision.

"Okay, I'll do just that," he said, "But I'm not sure what good it'll do."

And with that he walked over to Ruby.


	22. Chapter 22

14

 **Chapter 22- a romantic sunset and attacked and snatched by cat paws!**

Jupiter then stood nearby Ruby as she continued sulking, her wings crossed and a scowl on her face.

"Hey, what are you doing sulking in this corner, Ruby?" he asked. The others including Saturn, Rafael, Nico, Pedro, Luiz, Orquidea and Chiquitita watched.

"I'm just upset at how things of been," replied Ruby in an exasperated voice, "And also that we've had to face unnecessary suffering at the hands of those wretched poachers. Also, I'm just trying to figure out whether humans can either be cruel to us animals or kind. I just don't get it that some love their pets while others are just abusive."

Jupiter sighed and said, "Look, Ruby, I know you don't like us for being Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake's pet macaws but... we have to go back and reunite with them. We're still their pets."

Jupiter then looked down and shook his head slightly.

"If you knew more about our history and how much Susan, Lucy and their triplet cousins care for us, you'd understand..." he said.

"Let me guess, Susan and the other four have never abused you, have they?" asked Ruby with a frown. Jupiter flinched in slight shock.

"No, they haven't," he said, "They are kind and would never even dream of hurting us or abusing us. True they may discipline us but no, they would never, ever abuse us."

"By the way," Jupiter added, "Why did you ask that question? What makes you say that?"

Ruby sighed and looked down. A tear dripped from one of her eyes.

"When I was under the ownership of humans," she said, "I was never loved or cared for by my owners. It seems that this Susan and her companions seemed sensitive and wise enough to know how you felt, whether you're in distress or uncomfortable, scared or secure and must have known that certain actions could either cause an animal comfort or distress, but my owners never showed any care about my feelings when they treated me like dirt at all."

"How did they treat you like dirt?" asked Jupiter. Ruby looked at him.

"I was used for animal shows and street illusionist performances for the whole time that I was a pet," she said, "And also was forced to play in a short film once."

"You were in a film!?" asked Mars in shock.

"But... Nigel used to be a show bird himself," said Jewel before making an unsympathetic face, "Before he turned into that rotten psycho and a sadist after that parakeet displaced him from fame and took on smuggling birds and treating them like dirt."

"Nigel may have loved being a show bird," said Ruby, "But I never did. I absolutely _loathed_ it."

"How?" asked Jupiter.

"After I was caught by smugglers while I, Chiquitita and Orquidea were out on a short flight," explained Ruby, "I was taken to a pet store where I was purchased a few days later. Right from day one, I was forced into training to be a show bird."

Ruby then turned dark and said, "And whenever I didn't obey their commands, they would beat me or deny me a meal. I only got food if I complied."

"That's horrible," said Jupiter, "Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake would never do anything like that to us."

"They probably know that you'd be reduced to poor health if they did treat you like how my owners treated me," said Ruby in a strangled voice, "Furthermore, I had no toys to play with, and one time when I tried to fly away during one performance, my owner clipped the flight feathers of my wings..."

And with that, she showed Jupiter her clipped wings and continued, "This is why I cannot fly very well. Just grounded, like a chicken."

Jupiter wore a look that was mixed with disbelief, shock and sympathy. He never knew that some humans could treat their birds like that. Ruby then continued.

"Two years, I've been under the tyrannical hands of those owners," she muttered, "But one day, I finally managed to learn how that lock held me in my cage worked. I learned how it was locked and unlocked. With that in mind, I managed to unlock the cage door and immediately make a break for it. However, since I couldn't fly, I was forced to escape on foot rather than fly, but luckily, Chiquitita and Orquidea had managed to find me and take me back to the jungle to nurse me back to health, for I was quite underfed. Then we were caught by those bird studiers and taken to that place where they treated us of minor injuries. However, we did not like it there at all."

"You somehow managed to figure out how to open that cage door by yourself?" asked Cobalto.

"That explains how you managed to free us back in the smugglers' den," said Esmeralda. Ruby just looked at her and then down to the ground, a sombre look on her face.

"And that pretty much sums up my time as a pet," she murmured, "I just don't get why those humans were cruel to me while other humans are kind to their animals."

Jupiter looked on speechless. He could not imagine Ruby going through such forced performances, but he knew the possibility of why Ruby's owners forced her to comply with promised punishments if she didn't: impatience. Parrots required a LOT of patience to raise and train and if they were abused, they could become distressed. Then another reason why Ruby was forced to comply came into Jupiter's head: an idea that made him flinch in revulsion as it brought to mind Brutus's song when he and the others were caged in the smugglers' den.

"Ruby," said Jupiter at last, "I didn't know..."

"Look, just go back to your owners," muttered Ruby and with that, she buried her face in her wings and began to cry. Jupiter wanted to comfort her but he knew that she wouldn't appreciate it. Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Sunset, Travis, Veggie and Dash all came and surrounded him.

"Let's get prepared to return to Tulio's Aviary, everyone," said Jupiter.

"But what about Ruby?" asked Mars.

"We'll take care of her," said Chiquitita, "You lot just get back to Tulio's Aviary and we'll stay here in Luiz's garage until we become able to fly again."

"But Chiquitita," said Mercury, "Some of you are still injured and still need the medical attention of those animal doctors at Tulio's Aviary."

"And besides, Ruby is grounded with clipped wings," said Saturn, "And it could take several months for her flight feathers to grow back."

"Well, if you lot want to go back to Tulio's Aviary," said Blu, "What about some of you who cannot fly at all, such as Jupiter's damaged left wing?"

"We'll hitch a ride on a car or something," said Jupiter. But then he realised that waiting for a car that could go to Tulio's Aviary could take ages, and outside it was already getting dark. Upon realising this, Jupiter immediately placed that idea as out of the question.

"I just realised," he muttered, "That might be difficult. We're stuck."

"That's true," muttered Veggie.

"There's no way we're going to walk all the way back to Tulio's Aviary in the dark," said Saturn.

"I'll fly back," said Pluto, "Since I'm no longer chained to Lapis Lazuli, I'll fly back to Tulio's Aviary and try and bring some of the ornithologists here."

"But Pluto, it is getting dark outside," said Ceres, "And another thing, you could be an easy target for those smugglers if they're still running around catching birds, and we don't want you getting caught..."

Pluto was about to answer when Rafael came in.

"Well since you lot are out of options," he said, "You might as well stay here for the night. Tell you what, why don't you spend some time together."

He turned to Venus, Mercury and Pluto and said, "Especially you three with Zephyr, Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli. Get to know each other for a bit."

"Yeah," said Nico and Pedro together. Jupiter's group looked at each other, reluctant to make a decision on whether to go or stay. If they stayed, it would mean another night of being separate from their owners, but if they left, they would be faced with a long, impossible journey back to Tulio's Aviary, out in the dark, and it was not safe out in the dark streets.

"I suggest you stay for the night and wait until morning," said Ginger.

"I agree," said Blu, "One, it's safe here and two, those smugglers will not be able to find us here."

Jupiter looked at Blu and Ginger for a while until he finally made his decision.

"Okay," he said, "We will stay."

"So will I," muttered Mars, "At least we're away from those smugglers and their pesky cats."

"I'm staying," said Saturn.

"Us too," said Neptune and Uranus together. Pluto, Ceres, Mercury and Venus also nodded in agreement.

"We'll leave finding our owners until tomorrow morning," said Travis. Sunset, Veggie and Dash also nodded in agreement. Rafael and Luiz smiled.

"Then it's settled," said Rafael.

"I'll find you some boxes for you to settle in for the night," said Luiz.

"I'll give some of the macaws my cardboard box bed," said Ginger, "And just find another one for myself. At least it'll reduce the effort of having to find more cardboard boxes for some of the macaws."

"Why, thank you, Ginger," said Jupiter. With that, Ginger and Luiz left to fetch some cardboard boxes and newspapers to make some makeshift beds for the group.

"We'll help Ginger and Luiz," said Veggie as he, Dash, Travis and Sunset left.

"Fine," said Jupiter. He then turned to the others and said, "Well, while those six are occupied with searching us some makeshift beds, why don't we do something to pass the time?"

"Sure," said Uranus, "Why don't we go outside and watch the sunset?"

The others nodded in agreement. Jupiter smiled and with that, all nine macaws left for outside.

"We'll come with you to watch the sunset as well," muttered Sapphire.

"There's nothing else to do here, anyway," said Zephyr.

"Okay, join us," said Jupiter and with that, Sapphire, Zephyr, along with Brisa, Cobalto, Esmeralda, Chiquitita, Lapis Lazuli, Orquidea and Ultramarine followed Susan's macaws to outside through the door. Ruby, however, just sat in her corner, her sulky eyes on them as they left. Sighing, she turned away and continued facing the wall. Blu and Jewel also decided to watch the sunset too, to have some romantic time together as well as a much needed break from raising their three kids.

Soon, it was finally sunset, and all the macaws but Ruby were outside. Blu and Jewel sat on the roof, Jewel leaning against Blu lovingly as the pair gazed at the evening sky awash with pinks, yellows, golds and oranges. On the ground, the other macaws were either watching the sunset or talking. Venus sat with Zephyr and Brisa while Mercury sat with Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli sat with Pluto, and the others were in a larger group engaging in conversation. Zephyr gazed in awe at the sunset.

"The sunset sure is beautiful tonight," he murmured, "Before we lost Mom and Dad, our parents used to take us out on sunset outings to watch the enchanting colours the sun seems to change the sky and the clouds nearest to it into."

"Was that one of the activities you used to do after you and your family were torn from the Spix macaw tribe?" asked Venus.

"Yes it was," said Brisa, "We also did other things like explore our home back then, but it was nothing like the habitat we lived with the other Spix macaws. We greatly missed our tribe and wished that they had survived the fire, but it's likely that they didn't."

"That was when we left our home to find somewhere else to live," said Zephyr with a sombre look on his face, "But as we grew up to the age of eventually leaving the nest, Mom and Dad had doubts of us ever finding two more Spix macaws to settle down and start our own families due to the rarity of our species. Both Brisa and I have the same desire to find a mate and have chicks, but the chances of that happening are very slim."

"But then we were struck by another tragedy," said Brisa, "When smugglers came and caused chaos, resulting in our separation from our parents. After the chaos had subsided, we couldn't find them anywhere at all and were forced to move somewhere else again. That was just after we had become old enough to leave the nest into independence."

"And that was when you were forced into caring for each other for as long as you lived?" asked Venus.

"Pretty much," said Zephyr with a sad look on his face, "We did not want to leave each other to fend for ourselves. As the next years went past, all I did was care for my sister Brisa and she would care for me."

"We really wished we had a better purpose in life," said Brisa sadly, "And that was to find other Spix macaws and hopefully a mate each and have chicks."

"For many years since we were torn from the Spix macaw tribe we had not seen others like ourselves," said Zephyr with disappointment, "Until now."

"What were the names of your parents?" asked Venus.

"Our mother's name was Gael and our father's name was Tornado," replied Brisa, "Our names are to do with breezes. Zephyr's name means light breeze while my name is Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese for 'breeze'."

"Interesting," said Venus.

"By the way, did you have any parents or siblings at all?" asked Zephyr. This was met with silence for Venus for she didn't know how to answer the question.

"I can't even remember whether I did have any parents or siblings or not, to be honest," said Venus, "I know I was likely born here based on the flashbacks I had in that spot of the jungle where Mercury and I passed out but... I cannot even remember anything about my family at all. Mercury also has that same problem."

"Trauma from being smuggled maybe," said Brisa with narrowed eyes. Venus just sighed. While the three Spix macaws were talking, Rafael, Nico and Pedro flew overhead, observing them as well as Mercury and Sapphire, and Pluto and Lapis Lazuli.

"Do you see any signs of romance bloomin' between any of those three macaws, Rafy?" asked Nico.

Rafael looked closely at Sapphire and Mercury and saw that they were beginning to watch the sunset together. Venus, Zephyr, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto, however, continued talking.

"The Spix and glaucous couples don't seem to showing any signs of romance still," said Rafael, "But the Lear's couple might be doing so."

He then flew lower to watch as Mercury and Sapphire watched the sunset.

"You know something, sunsets are often considered to be one of the most romantic scenes to go to," said Mercury, unaware that Rafael was flying by behind him and Sapphire.

"My favourite scene is a star riddled night," said Sapphire, "My Mom and Dad once took me and my older half-brother Waldo out to look at such a night in our tribe's habitat a month after I had learned to fly. Waldo was my mother's first brood chick but his dad died and my mother paired up with another male and had me."

"Maybe we could go out and admire the night sky when it's like that one night," said Mercury when he realised what he had just said. He put his wings on his beak as Sapphire looked at him.

"What did you just say?" asked Sapphire. Mercury didn't answer and just kept his wings clasped over his beak, expecting Sapphire to pounce on and attack him like she did in Tulio's Aviary. However, Sapphire didn't. Behind the two Lear's macaws, Pedro smiled.

"Looks like Mercury is definitely showing signs that he has feelings for Sapphire," he said.

"Yeah, but he's quite shy," said Nico.

"Maybe we could help things along by setting the scene," said Rafael. Then an idea entered his head.

"I know, why don't you two sing a song like you did for Blu and Jewel on that trolley, to help improve the atmosphere?" he asked.

"Tha's a great idea," said Nico. Pedro then hovered in the air and began to start up a song. However, he began to try and set the scene with the same song he attempted to do so for Blu and Jewel: Drop It Low.

"Getagetagetagetgeta girl," he said as he rapped the first lyrics. As he continued, Rafael put on a disagreeing face.

"Drop it drop it drop it low, drop it drop it drop it low..." continued Pedro.

"Um, Pedro, that song's not suitable for the mood," said Rafael, "It has to be romantic."

Nico then decided to intervene.

"I kind of agree with Rafy, Pedro," he said, "Not insulting you or anything but... the mood of that song doesn't match the atmosphere."

He then flew over and said, "Here, let me lead..."

And with that, he took off and flew around the Lear's macaw pair and began to whistle a song with a softer, more romantic tone to it. Pedro then found some string discarded nearby. He picked it up and quickly tied it to a piece of wood lying near a dustbin or trash can to make a makeshift stringed instrument. As soon as he had finished it, he began to play it.

"That's better," said Rafael. As Nico and Pedro worked together to fill the air with the romantic music, Rafael flew around Mercury and Sapphire. In the larger group nearby, Uranus heard the soothing sound and turned round. When he saw Rafael fly around Mercury and Sapphire, he nodded to the others to get their attention.

"Look," he said. The others followed his gaze. Venus, Zephyr and Brisa, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli also watched as Rafael began to try and advise Mercury as he continued talking to Sapphire.

"Hey, up here," said Rafael in a voice loud enough for Mercury to hear. Mercury looked up.

"Tell her that she has beautiful eyes," said Rafael. Mercury, at this, put his wings on his hips and frowned while Sapphire looked on as if to say 'What?'

"Do you have to dictate to me what to say to Sapphire, Big Nose?" snapped Mercury rather sharply. Rafael, at this, was slightly taken aback by this response. Then he decided to leave the choice of words to Mercury.

"Okay then," he said, "Just tell her how you feel."

Mercury, at this, then turned back to face Sapphire but then he realised something: the words were blocked by his shyness that stuck his tongue in his beak. Because of this, he could not follow Rafael's advice.

"Well," said Sapphire, "What were you going to say?"

Mercury continued to remain silent. The other macaws continued looking on.

"He's tongue tied," said Mars with crossed wings.

"Shyness is often his biggest weakness," said Ceres. Some of the macaws, however, thought the scene was slightly funny.

"Could it be that Mercury is... um..." said Neptune but then he slowed to a halt in his choice of words.

"I don't know for sure," said Uranus, "But it seems like it."

Esmeralda then crossed her wings and rolled her eyes.

"Well if Mercury is so shy, then that toucan, cardinal and canary's interference isn't helping," she muttered.

"They're only trying to help set the mood," said Blu from the roof. The group of macaws looked up.

"That's exactly how they tried to set the mood when we were on that trolley on the way to Luiz's garage," said Jewel. This word confused some of the English birds.

"Trolley?" said Mars, "You don't ride shopping trolleys. They're not road vehicles."

"She means a tram or a streetcar, Mars," said Jupiter, "It's an American English term for it."

"Does it?" asked Mars. Saturn smiled and rolled his eyes.

"You should have studied where American English and British English vary in the different terms they have for different things, pal," he said slightly amused.

"Speaking of slight variations, Brazilian Portuguese seems to vary in certain words for certain things to European Portuguese as well," said Neptune. He then sighed and said, "I may know a few Spanish and Portuguese words but not very many."

"Some of our names are Spanish or Portuguese," said Esmeralda, "My name is Spanish for 'emerald' based on my species' main feather colour and also the colour of my eyes. Orquidea's name is Spanish for 'orchid', a type of beautiful flower."

"And Brisa's name means 'breeze' in Spanish," said Orquidea with a nod to Brisa who stood by Zephyr and Venus as they watched Nico and Pedro continue to play the romantic song. Then Mars began to observe how Venus was interacting with Zephyr.

"She seems to be quite tongue-tied as well," he said, "I can hear that she's struggling to choose words."

"As for Pluto and Lapis Lazuli," said Jupiter, "They don't seem to be showing any shyness at all. Normally Pluto is a timid macaw."

"Timid?" snapped Ultramarine, "More like a coward. During that fight with the cats he dived into hiding rather than helping us."

"I didn't mean in the context of facing a battle for one's defence, Ultramarine," said Jupiter. Just then, there was a shout from Ginger's voice from Luiz's garage.

"The makeshift beds are ready," called Ginger.

"Alright, thanks, Ginger," called Jupiter. Then Ginger, Luiz, Veggie, Travis, Sunset and Dash all emerged from Luiz's garage after hearing Nico and Pedro's romantic tune.

"Hello, what's going on?" asked Dash as he eyed the canary and cardinal. At this, Nico stopped whistling while Pedro stopped playing his makeshift stringed instrument.

"Oh, just trying to set the atmosphere for three of your macaw friends and your counterparts, Dashie," said Nico.

"Really?" said Veggie and with that, he looked at Venus and Zephyr who sat with Brisa, then at Mercury and Sapphire, and finally at Pluto and Lapis Lazuli. The seven macaws just looked back at him with surprised looks on their faces. Then Sunset eyed the sunset, the time of day she was named for, and took off onto the roof. Travis followed.

"Lucy's idea to name me after that time of day was a good one," cooed Sunset romantically, "The colours the sun paints the evening sky really does resemble the colours of my plumage, especially for my bright red and yellow crest."

"Yeah, look at how golden the sky looks with the sun almost completely gone," said Travis.

"Careful not to look directly at the sun, you two," said Blu, "The intense glare of the star could blind you."

"We know very well how damaging to the eyes the sun is, Blu, thanks for reminding us," said Travis. The sulfur-crested and Major Mitchell's cockatoo then turned and looked at each other with smiles on their beaks. Blu smiled as he observed the stares between the two cockatoos.

"Hey, Jewel, look at this," Blu whispered. Jewel looked at Sunset and Travis as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Could it be that Travis and Sunset are, um..." began Blu. At this, Travis turned and looked at the Spix macaw.

"What are you trying to say, Blu?" asked the sulfur-crested cockatoo, a slight suspicion tinting his eyes. Blu said nothing. The group on the floor and the roof giggled at this.

"Oh, Blu, you are funny at times," said Sunset with an amused smile.

"Let's just continue to watch the sunset," said Jewel and with that, the group resumed watching the beautiful scenery as the sun soon sank completely below the horizon. However, some of the macaws were aware that one was still missing.

"Why isn't Ruby joining us?" asked Cobalto, "She's missing out on watching this pretty scene."

"She's still sulking in the corner inside," said Ginger. She then sighed and continued, "It's shocking and appalling what she's been through as a pet. The abuse her owners inflicted upon her was no different to what the girl inflicted upon the blue-eyed Spix macaw and sometimes me as well."

"Let's just leave her," said Veggie, "If she doesn't want to come out and join us, then we can't force her."

And with that, the group resumed watching the sunset as the sun completely disappeared below the horizon. Rafael, Nico and Pedro had joined the group. Opposite the remains of the sunlight, darkness of the night crept slowly in, and stars that were constantly masked by the sun's intense light during the day were slowly emerging from the powerful sunlight cloak.

"You know something; I believe sunsets, alongside a starry night and a rainbow, are one of the most beautiful daytime scenes God has created," said Veggie.

"Yes, definitely," said Dash. The group then fell silent as they gazed the remains of the light of today. However, the group was about to be disturbed. While all the macaws apart from Ruby, Carla, Bia and Tiago, the two cockatoos, the three dogs (two greyhounds and one bulldog), the toucan, canary and cardinal, and tabby cat continued gazing at the sunset, a group of six shadowy figures with body shapes no different from Veggie crept alongside the wall of Luiz's garage. The shadowy figures were adorned with wicked eyes and three of them carried cages. When one of the shadowy figures eyed the colourful crowd of animals sat on the floor and on the roof, it smiled.

"Looks like we've found them, folks," it said. It then looked up at Blu and Jewel on the roof.

"And if those two parents are there, their chicks will be as well," it continued.

"Yeah, but where?" asked another shadowy figure, a female. The first figure turned to her.

"They'll likely be inside, Moggy, so we'll have to sneak into that building," it said, pointing to the gate-like doors of Luiz's garage, "But we must be careful not to distract any of those adults over there."

Another shadowy figure, one of the three that had a cage on paw, looked at the colourful group of animals.

"I hope all are out of the building while we catch the chicks first, Paws," it said, "Otherwise we'd be in trouble."

The first shadow figure, by the name of Paws who was a male, checked the group of animals carefully.

"Yep, it looks like all of them are definitely out of the building," he said. He then turned to face his five companions.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," he said, "We're going to sneak into that Mecanico building and look for the chicks to catch first. Then we'll try and catch their parents and hopefully the other seven valuable macaws: the other three Spix, the two glaucous, and the two Lear's. We'll get to that when we come to it. Now, any questions?"

"We must be careful of the parents of the three chicks, Paws," said another shadowy figure, another female, "Otis told us that they viciously attacked and clawed him when he caught their chicks."

"Then we'll have to think of a foolproof method to catch them, restrain them and then cage them, then," said Paws. Then he turned to face the doors to Luiz's garage.

"Right, here we go," he said and with that, the six figures paced towards the doors, making careful sure that the group of animals remained fixated on the remains of the sunset, the last glinting of sunlight slowly being eaten away by the approaching darkness of the night and also keeping quiet. The cage carriers also carried their cages carefully to avoid them scraping on the ground or that would give away their position. However, the six creatures had failed to realise two things: Veggie's sensitive hearing and that one of the adult macaws was still inside the garage. As the last shadowy figure disappeared through the gates and into the garage, Veggie thought he heard some four footed footsteps. At this, he turned around and eyed the gates while the others continued watching the last of the sunset.

Inside the garage, the six shadowy figures, which were a group of six cats led by Paws, a male brown and white cat, looked around at the building.

"Whew, I didn't think garages would be rather untidy," said the cat named Moggy, a female brown cat.

"Shh," hushed Paws, "Let's find those three chicks and then concentrate on catching their parents and the other seven valuable macaws."

The six cats then continued walking through the garage, their eyes scanning the surroundings. Then one of the other cats, a female mottled grey and black cat, bumped into something. At this, she turned and saw a large cardboard box with newspaper in it. She then looked around and saw more cardboard boxes with newspapers.

"Hmm, intriguing," she murmured. While the six intruders were looking around Luiz's garage, their sounds alerted a certain despondent female scarlet macaw still sat in her corner. Ruby, alerted by the sounds, slowly lifted her head and began to wonder where these unfamiliar voices were coming from. As she scanned the surroundings, Ruby's yellow eyes landed on six four-legged figures no different from Veggie, three of which had devices used for holding birds. As soon as the female scarlet macaw saw them, horror flooded within her. Then Ruby scowled and began to try and take action, and left her corner to try and find a way to surprise the cats. Paws looked at the grey and black striped cat and said, "Look, Adriana, we've a very important task to complete and Frank and Brutus will be expecting us to return with the valuable macaws including the Spix macaw family. We don't have time for distractions."

"Sorry, Paws," said Adriana, "I just can't help it."

Then Moggy felt something wet under her back feet. At this, she turned and saw a pool of saliva on the floor.

"Ew," she winced in revulsion, "Don't tell me a slobby dog lives here."

"Look, Moggy, there's no time to play guessing games on who lives here," muttered Paws, "Let's just get this job done!"

As he said this, Ruby crept carefully behind some toolboxes and the car, her yellow eyes fixed on the six cats as Paws said, "Right, let's spread out and find those chicks. Adriana, Hopper, Jackie, you search that area of the garage (indicating with a paw), while I, Moggy and Tom search that area (again indicating with a paw). Those of you, prepare your cages and yourselves when you find those chicks. You know your orders?"

The other five cats nodded much to Paws' satisfied smile.

"Right, let's go," he said, "We don't have much time, you five, so let's be quick, and then we'll try and catch those nine adult macaws including the three chicks' parents."

And with that the group of six split into three and separated. Ruby then quickly located the chicks, who were asleep on a shelf, and then quickly sneaked in the direction. It was then that a brown, black and orange striped head peered into the gate. Veggie had come to investigate but to his surprise, he saw nothing. However, he refused to give up. Paws, Moggy and Tom, another brown and white male armed with a cage then climbed up onto a worktop and walked along it. Suddenly, Moggy accidentally knocked a metallic tool, which was a stick with a flat C-shape on one end, off the worktop. The tool crashed onto the floor with a clattering sound. This got Veggie's attention and he looked on the direction of the sound. To his horror, he saw three cats, one armed with a cage, on the worktop. The sound also woke one of the three chicks, Carla. At this, she then left the nest, her brother and sister still asleep in the makeshift nest on the shelf, and flew to investigate what that sound was. Paws then grabbed Moggy by the neck fur with a paw and scolded her.

"Will you be careful, you clod," he hissed, "You'd alert those outside!"

"Sorry, Paws, I didn't see that wrench and just knocked it off the worktop," said Moggy. Paws then released her neck hair and rolled his eyes. However, the three cats were unaware that they were being stalked by a tabby cat and a scarlet macaw. Veggie was about to jump onto the worktop when he felt a wing feather tap his right back leg. At this he turned and saw Ruby who raised a feather to her beak in a gesture to keep quiet. Veggie nodded as Ruby then crept towards the worktop and climbed the side, quietly so that the three cats didn't hear her while Veggie prepared for action. Paws, Moggy and Tom with his cage continued walking along the worktop until they saw a small cerulean blob with green eyes stare at them. Carla stood there, in shock.

"Guys," said Paws in a low voice. The other two cats turned and saw the chick. Carla squeaked timidly and flew back in the direction of the nest. Paws, Tom and Moggy followed until they eventually found all three chicks in their makeshift nest on the shelf. Paws then jumped onto the shelf and began to saunter in an intimidating way towards the three chicks. Carla, with Bia and Tiago now awake, saw the brown and white cat walk towards them with an evil look on his face. Below the shelf, Moggy climbed up onto a box by the nest while Tom prepared his cage.

"Well, you three little birdies," said Paws in a low voice to the frightened chicks, "I'm afraid we have finally found you."

He then stopped before them and continued, "Now that we've found you, it is time for you to be caged. Then your parents will be joinin' you shortly after. And once that job is done, we will be leavin' here, and takin' you to our owners."

And with that, he tittered evilly. Below the chicks, Moggy slowly snaked a paw towards Bia who was closest to the edge of the shelf and was about to grab her when, "Not so fast you pesky furballs!"

At this, Paws, Moggy and Tom looked around but before they could pinpoint the voice's source, a red, yellow and rich blue feathered blur shot in and knocked Moggy off the box! The cat screeched in shock and fell off the worktop. Paws then looked in Moggy's direction when the same feathered blur appeared and whacked him across the face as well. Paws, stunned, fell off the shelf and onto the worktop. These sounds alerted the other three cats Adriana, Hopper and Jackie and they popped their heads in the direction of the sounds' sources. Paws then found himself pinned down against the worktop by the neck by a talon of an enraged red macaw, her yellow eyes blazing with fury, and Paws could see the fire in Ruby's eyes as he looked up into them. Carla, Bia and Tiago looked down from the shelf with terrified eyes.

"What are you pesky intruders doing here!?" snarled the scarlet macaw fiercely. Paws, terrified, didn't say anything. Suddenly, a paw appeared behind Ruby and grabbed her by the neck. Tom had sneaked up behind her and had ambushed her. Ruby then began flapping and screeching madly in Tom's paw as Tom tried to cage her. However, the scarlet macaw began using her beak and talons defensively and Tom received a few scratches on his face and body.

"Help. Me. Cage. This. Macaw!" cried Tom in pain as Ruby clawed his face and chest. Paws leaped in and grabbed Ruby but the furious scarlet macaw lashed at him with a talon, narrowly slashing Paws across the face but missing by a few centimetres. Paws then hooked his paws on Ruby's wings and tried to restrain her. However, Ruby continued writhing. Briefly turning to the three Spix macaw chicks, she yelled, "Fly, chicks, and get to your parents!"

She managed to get the words out in time before Moggy jumped in and clasped her beak shut with her front paws. Carla, Bia and Tiago immediately took off from the shelf and attempt to fly to outside through the doors to get help but a cat paw appeared and snatched them out of the air. Jackie had jumped into the air and had grabbed them.

"Quick, Hopper, Adriana," he shouted, "Get one of the cages!"

Hopper and Adriana complied and quickly brought in a cage but before Jackie could toss the three chicks into it, a brown, ginger and orange blur shot in and tackled Jackie and then Hopper and Adriana, knocking them over and sending the cage clattering onto the ground. Also, Carla, Bia and Tiago flew out of Jackie's paws and began to fly around the room. Veggie had come to the rescue. He then rushed over to Ruby to help as she continued struggling within Paws, Moggy and Tom's grasp as the three cats tried forcing her into Tom's cage. Veggie pounced onto the three cats and released Ruby. Then Veggie began to viciously fight Paws, Tom and Moggy while Ruby let loose an extremely loud squawk to get the others' attention. Her screeching was heard by the others outside. They, especially Blu and Jewel, at this, popped their heads up in horror.

"RUBY!" cried Jupiter.

"OUR CHICKS!" cried Jewel and with that, she rocketed towards a hole in the roof and flew inside with Blu following while the others rushed for the door and entered it. When the group entered the room, what they saw horrified them. Veggie was fighting three cats while Ruby was being restrained by a fourth and a fifth and, to Blu and Jewel's utter rage and horror, a sixth was pursuing Carla, Bia and Tiago. The three chicks' parents, without hesitation, rocketed towards the cat, which was Hopper, and ploughed into his side, knocking him into a wall and stunning him. Jupiter then dashed in and pounced onto the two cats attempting to cage Ruby, allowing Ruby to escape while Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Dash, Sunset and Travis made a beeline for Veggie as he struggled with the other three cats and attacked Paws, Moggy and Tom, making them release Veggie. As the small fight broke out in Luiz's garage, Blu and Jewel quickly flew over to their chicks and hugged them on the floor.

"Blu, Jewel, LOOK OUT!" cried Rafael. The Spix macaw couple looked around but before they knew it, a pair of cat paws appeared and grabbed Jewel by the neck while another pair of cat paws appeared and scooped up Blu and the three chicks. Adriana and Jackie had managed to escape Jupiter's attack and had gone straight for the Spix macaw family. Then as soon as Jackie had grabbed Blu and the three chicks, he tossed them into a cage within seconds. However, Adriana struggled to retain Jewel for she had begun to claw the cat outright.

"You let me go this minute you STINKING FELINE!" screeched the Spix macaw and with that, she struck Adriana across the face with her claws, knocking the cat back. Jewel then attempted to pounce onto Adriana when suddenly a cat paw appeared and whacked her on the head from behind. Jewel was flung into a wall where she crashed into it and fell onto the floor.

"Jewel!" cried Blu. Then Paws, the one who had attacked Jewel, picked up the stunned Spix macaw and threw her into the cage with Blu and the three chicks, Adriana opening and closing it as soon as Jewel was in the cage.

"Okay, we've got the Spix macaw family," cried Adriana.

"Go, go, GO," shouted Paws, "We'll catch up."

And with that, he and Jackie jumped back into the chaos. Adriana, without hesitation, picked up the cage containing Blu and his family and made a break for it for the doors. From the fight, Jupiter got a glimpse of the caged Spix macaw family as Blu and his three chicks cried for help. Flooded with horror, Jupiter attempted to go after them but a cat paw appeared and grabbed his neck. Then Jupiter was flung into another cage. Mercury, Sapphire and Orquidea followed shortly and the cage was slammed shut by Hopper who then retreated after Adriana. Then Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were caught and stuffed into the third cage by Moggy and Paws, who also tossed Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita into it as well.

"Okay, we're done for now," cried Paws as he dodged a talon flung by Neptune. And with that, the four cats carried the last cage containing the five birds and dashed off for the doors, making the others give chase. Horror exploded within Travis and Ruby as they saw Chiquitita and Sunset in the cage.

"Don't let them get away," shouted Veggie. At this, Travis rocketed towards the four cats and tried to get to the cage but Paws turned, raised a paw and clawed the sulfur-crested cockatoo across the chest the moment he came near. Travis cried in pain as he was flung back.

"TRAVIS!" shouted Sunset from the cage. Then Moggy swiped Dash across the face and knocked him down while Tom charged into Neptune and knocked him back, causing him to collide with the other macaws, Nico, Pedro, Rafael, Luiz, Veggie and Ginger. The lot were instantly stopped as they collided with the large hyacinth macaw and fell in a heap on the floor. Luiz's saliva flew everywhere and landed in the faces of some of the birds and Veggie much to their revulsion. Paws cackled out loud as he saw it happen.

"I'm afraid you can't catch us, losers," he laughed scornfully, "Better luck next time!"

And with that, he, Moggy, Tom and Jackie left with the cage containing Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita. As the remaining four cats left and exited the garage through the doors and were gone, Saturn looked around as the battered group began to sort themselves out.

"Jupiter!" he cried, "Jupiter, Jupiter!"

"Sapphire," shouted Esmeralda.

"Mercury," cried Venus. Uranus then saw the white form of Travis curled up on the floor.

"Travis!" he cried and dashed over to him. Cobalto, Ginger, Rafael and Ceres followed. As the five crowded around Travis, the sulfur-crested cockatoo, his face twisted and yellow crest erected in intense pain, looked up at them. He was curled up on his left side, his wings clasping his chest. Uranus gasped in horror when he saw that Travis's white wings had a red patch forming on the feathers. Then the others came around. Esmeralda looked at the red bloom forming on Travis's wings.

"He's been injured," she exclaimed, "One of the cats must have clawed him across the chest."

She then put her wings on Travis's head to steady him.

"We've got to get him out of here and back to Tulio's Aviary now," said Dash, "If it's a serious injury, he'll need immediate medical attention."

"But what about the kidnapped birds?" asked Veggie. Then dread hit him when he realised that Blu and his family were missing.

"Oh, no..." he murmured.

"What?" asked Cobalto.

"Blu, Jewel and their three chicks," Veggie blurted out, "Those cats have nabbed Blu, Jewel and their three chicks."

Ruby made a horrified facial expression.

"Don't tell me they're gonna be facing Brutus," she shouted.

"That cat's a sadistic psychopath who loves to taunt birds," said Dash, "But if he's provoked, he could become violent."

"We've got to go after and rescue them," said Ceres, "We can't allow those smugglers to smuggle those birds, especially Blu and his family, out of Brazil."

"Yeah, no-one intrudes and kidnaps our friends Blu and Jewel and our nephew Tiago and nieces Carla and Bia," shouted Nico in determination.

"Then let's go out and follow those cats!" said Pedro.

"But what about Travis?" asked Neptune. Everyone looked at the agonised sulfur-crested cockatoo and realised that they were in two minds: either going after the six cats or take Travis out to get help. Then a plan hatched in Dash's head.

"I've got it," he shouted.

"What?" asked Venus.

"How?" asked Rafael. Dash then began to explain his ideas.

"Why don't some of us go after those six cats and try and rescue our kidnapped friends while the rest of us go out and try and find someone who would take us back to Tulio's Aviary with Travis?" he said. This was met by uncertain looks but due to time running out and with Travis in agony, the others immediately agreed.

"That's a good idea, speedy," said Nico, "I'm goin' to go after those cats."

"So will I," said Pedro, a determined look on his face.

"I'm going with you too," said Luiz.

"So will I," said Veggie, "You could do with a cunning mammal like me on your team too."

"I'm in," said Venus.

"So am I," said Saturn, "With Jupiter gone, I will have to take over as leader until we get him back."

"I'm going too," said Uranus. Neptune and Ceres also nodded in agreement.

"I would like to come too," said Ruby, "I'm not going to have those creeps smuggle Chiquitita and Orquidea out of Brazil and potentially sell them to abusive owners. I've had a terrible ordeal with such owners. I don't want those two friends of mine to face that same nightmare. Also, I'm going to do it for the sake of Blu and his family."

"So will I," said Esmeralda. Ultramarine and Cobalto also nodded in agreement. Rafael also voted to go, leaving only Dash and Ginger with Travis.

"Well, if you lot go ahead, we'll take Travis here to the first human we could find," said Dash, "Hopefully they'll see the state of him and phone Tulio, but we need something to carry him in."

"I'll see to that," said Ginger, "I've seen a dog-sized backpack hung up in the coatroom. I'll use it to carry Travis."

And with that, she left to get it.

"Then it's settled," said Saturn. He then began to look around for Zephyr and Brisa.

"Zephyr, Brisa, are you with us?" he asked. The others, at this, looked around until their eyes landed on a blue macaw as he prepared to carry a cerulean macaw to leave the garage, a scowl on his face. At this, Saturn ran over to the two and said, "Hey, Zephyr and Brisa, what are you doing?"

Zephyr, at first, didn't reply and just picked Brisa up, before leaving the garage. Saturn lost patience.

"I said WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" he yelled. At this, Zephyr shot the blue-and-gold macaw a glare.

"We're going back to the jungle," he said, flatly. This was met by appalled look from the others and they glared back at Zephyr in utter astonishment.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23- Zephyr and Brisa end up caught**

"You WHAT!?" shouted Saturn in utter shock and disbelief.

"But what about the kidnapped birds?" asked Ruby, "Especially Blu and his family?"

"We've got to go after them," said Esmeralda, "They, especially Blu and his family, are going to be facing torment and intimidation from that psycho Russian grey when those six cats take them to their owners, and we don't want that, especially for the chicks."

"I'm not bothered about this pointless palaver anymore," muttered Zephyr as he tried carrying Brisa outside, "I still can't believe that Jewel has fallen for a pet, and we're SICK of being pursued by cats all the time."

And with that, he carried Brisa, who still had a sprained wing and thus still unable to fly, through the doors to outside. It was now dark outside for it was night, and the sky was completely black except for a scatter of glitter of the stars thrown across it, and the bright silvery half moon shining nearby. As Zephyr left, Venus felt hot rage burn through her while Nico, Pedro and Rafael beside her looked on stunned. As Zephyr was about to fly with Brisa back to the jungle, Venus ran off after him, her maya blue feathers on end. The others apart from Dash, Ginger and Travis followed and exited the doors.

"Do you really care about your childhood friend Jewel at all?" Venus questioned furiously, "It seems that you really DON'T!"

Ruby, Esmeralda, Saturn and Uranus came up beside Venus as she shouted, "I think you're just a downright selfish, uncaring, snobbish BRAT who cares for no one else but himself and his sister!"

This made Zephyr, who held Brisa in his talons, stop and hover. He then turned round and descended towards the ground. After placing Brisa on the floor, Zephyr touched down and walked straight up to Venus, a furious scowl on his face. Ruby, Esmeralda, Saturn and Uranus, not wanting to get involved, backed away while the others looked on as an argument was about to unfold.

"Here we go again," murmured Veggie.

"What did you just call me, lady?" growled Zephyr to Venus.

"Don't you realise that Jewel is about to face abuse from that grey cat with a screw loose and his minions along with her family?" protested Venus, "It's not going to do her, Blu or their chicks any good, especially their chicks. Those little ones could be traumatised for LIFE as a result of those cats' abuse, especially from that psychopathic cat Brutus!"

"Look, it's not my fault that Jewel has fallen for a pet," snapped Zephyr, "And since Brisa and I have no use for pets, certainly not for wild macaws that have been paired up with one, we're going to return to the jungle."

This comment cut Venus like a talon and made her erupt like one of the volcanoes on her namesake planet.

"WHAT'S IT WITH YOU AND YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS PET MACAWS!?" she screeched at the top of her lungs, "WELL, I GUESS I GET IT. YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A CONDESCENDING, BIGOTED, NARROW-MINDED BRAT, BOTH YOU AND YOUR SISTER!"

"DON'T you DARE INSULT MY SISTER LIKE THAT!" retorted Zephyr. Then Neptune tried to intervene.

"Can I say something," he said.

"NO!" screeched both Zephyr and Venus at the same time. Neptune flinched and backed away.

"And as for your so-called friendship with Jewel," added Venus, "You never really cared for her one BIT in the first place. As for your comment about you having no use for pets like me, I might as well say I have no use for wild-born Spix macaws that have such a selfish and bigoted attitude. And when I say wild born macaws, I mean you and Brisa, and not any other macaw."

She jabbed Zephyr in the chest with a talon as she said this.

"Well, if that is how you wanna see me, human's pet brat," snapped Zephyr, "I might as well return to the jungle. I hope I'LL NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!"

"AND I HOPE I'LL NEVER, EVER SEE YOU AGAIN EITHER, WILD BOY," screeched Venus, saliva flying as she yelled these words. However, deep down, she regretted saying these and couldn't believe herself that she said it. Zephyr didn't say word. He just took off, wrapped his talons around Brisa's wings and lifted her off the ground. Brisa shot Venus a dirty look and within moments, she was carried away by her brother as he began to fly away in the direction of the jungle. Venus turned her back on Zephyr and Brisa and walked away. Rafael then came forward to protest.

"No, no, no, no," he shouted after the male Spix macaw, "You can't just leave each other. Haven't you heard what I said about you two earlier? You are Romeo to Venus's Juliet. You can't be without each other."

"Stop referencing that tragedy play from William Shakespeare, Rafael," muttered Saturn, "And let's just concentrate on rescuing our friends. If Zephyr and Brisa won't help, then that's their problem."

Rafael just looked at him and then sighed.

"Oh, what is it with young love, honestly?" he asked, "This is the worst argument I had to deal with since Blu and Jewel's short falling out."

Nico and Pedro hovered nearby.

"Okay, Nico and Pedro," said Rafael in a low voice, "Go after Zephyr and Brisa."

The canary and cardinal obeyed and flew off after Zephyr and Brisa. At this moment, two greyhounds appeared. Ginger had the dog-sized backpack with Travis carefully packed into it. Travis looked at his friends, wincing in pain from the scratch on his chest. The two greyhounds had managed to help clean Travis's injury and had packed him into it. Now they were ready to go. However, the dog pair had heard the argument.

"What's happened now?" asked Dash with a frown.

"Zephyr and Brisa refuse to help," said Ultramarine flatly.

"We're going to have to rescue our kidnapped friends without them," said Neptune. Rafael sighed and then turned his attention back to the others.

"Right, let's get on with it," he said.

"Good," said Dash, "And since we don't have much time, and because it was a good idea that Ginger and I would do the searching for any humans for our breed is built for speed, we'd better get moving."

"You lot be very careful, won't you," said Ginger, "Especially you, Luiz."

"Don't worry, my friend we will," said Luiz with a drooly smile. Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres then hugged Dash while Veggie did a paw-fist bump. Travis looked at the macaws.

"Make sure you... successfully save those birds, especially Blu and his family," he said in a pained voice, "And any other bird from those rotten cats."

"We'll do our best, Travis," said Saturn.

"Okay, let's get a move on," said Dash. And with that, he and Ginger left the group and headed off down the street, Ginger taking Travis with her. The others then continued in their direction. However, due to the argument that had happened between Zephyr and Venus, progress was slow due to the weight of the shock caused by the argument.

Back in the air a while later, Zephyr continued carrying Brisa and flying in the direction of the jungle. Behind him, Nico and Pedro struggled to catch up due to their size. Zephyr was larger than the canary and cardinal and had larger wings, and thus was able to fly after.

"Zephyr," shouted Pedro, "Wait!"

"We wanna talk to you," said Nico. Zephyr, however, didn't hear them. He was very upset and remorseful, especially after what he said to Venus and about what had happened to Jewel and her family, as well as about Jewel herself. Deep down he wanted to be with Venus but now it may be impossible. Brisa was also very upset and the two siblings both began to shed tears. Nico and Pedro continued pursuing the two siblings and realised that the gap between them and Zephyr and Brisa was widening.

"It's no use, Pedro," said Nico as breathlessness from the demands of his wing muscles for more oxygen, alongside pain and tiredness from his flight muscles, began to creep in, "We're not gonna be able to... catch up."

"We're losing them," said Pedro as his wings began to tire and he began to become breathless as well. Suddenly, they saw the dark blue form of Zephyr stop into a hover. This turned Nico and Pedro's despair that they would not be able to catch up with Zephyr and Brisa into perplex.

"What?" said Nico confused.

"Why have they stopped?" asked Pedro. The canary and cardinal duo continued trying to catch up to Zephyr but then he began to descend towards the ground with Brisa in his talons. This added more confusion to Nico and Pedro's puzzlement.

"What's he doin'?" asked Nico. The two continued flying after Zephyr until something on the ground emerged into view.

"Nico, look," said Pedro with a point of his wing. Nico turned and followed the direction of the point. To his surprise, he saw a pile of metallic things. Around the pile were forms. Nico looked harder at it but when he saw that the metallic things contained colourful blobs, his face morphed into horror. Pedro also identified the blobs moving around and shuffling the metallic things around. Zephyr was descending right towards that spot with Brisa in his talons.

"It must be those cats of the second group of smugglers like the ones that attacked us," said Pedro.

"Look, Zephyr and Brisa are flying straight towards it," said Nico.

"What are they up to?" asked Pedro. And with that, the canary and cardinal began their descent after Zephyr and Brisa. A while later, the two Spix macaw siblings had touched down by the patch of metallic things with colourful blobs, which were captured birds, with cats at work in shuffling the caged birds around. Zephyr and Brisa then hid behind a lamppost and looked out. They saw the cats as they continued moving the caged birds around.

"Come on, everyone," shouted one of the cats, "Our owners will be here with the two trucks any moment. We've got to get these birds ready for packing."

Zephyr and Brisa looked at the birds horrified. They were in utter despair and hopelessness, and any complained bird only received a 'Shut up!' shout from some of the cats. While Zephyr and Brisa watched the cats up to their work, Nico and Pedro landed behind a street bin and peered out; making sure that Zephyr and Brisa remained oblivious to their presence. Then Nico and Pedro looked at the pile of caged birds.

"Good grief, Nico," said Pedro in a low voice, "Our new friends weren't kidding about those cats."

A grey cat with wicked brown eyes then appeared. He walked by some of the caged birds and taunted them. Nico recognised the Russian grey cat from some of Jupiter's group's description of him.

"That must be the cat Jupiter and the others were on about," whispered the canary, "Don't tell me he's more dangerous than that cockatoo with the ninja talons."

The canary and cardinal continued watching as the grey cat named Brutus then turned to the other cats as they continued shuffling the caged birds about. Zephyr and Brisa also continued watching from behind the lamppost, unaware that Nico and Pedro were present behind the bin.

"Great job, everyone," Brutus said, "You're doing well."

Some of the cats nodded in approval and continued their job. Then a few minutes later, as Brutus looked over a cage containing three sun conures, he heard a cat call his name.

"Brutus," it called, "Look what we have managed to catch."

At this, Brutus turned as Paws and his five comrades walked in with three cages. In one of the cages, the one held by Adriana and Hopper were a pair of blue Spix macaws and their three chicks, while another held by Tom contained two Lear's macaws, a blue-and-gold macaw and a vermillion scarlet macaw and a third held by Moggy and Jackie contained two glaucous macaws, two green-winged macaws and a Major Mitchell's cockatoo. As the six cats walked towards Brutus with their captured birds, Zephyr and Brisa, as well as Nico and Pedro, widened their eyes in horror. Zephyr gasped as he saw Jewel, who had just come round, cringe against Blu. The three chicks were invisible for they were hidden by Blu's large wings, but Zephyr and Brisa assumed that they must be extremely frightened. When Brutus saw Blu and his family, his mouth widened into a congratulating smile.

"Well done, Paws," he shouted in praise, "You've managed to catch the Spix macaw family."

Brutus's eyes then raked over Mercury, Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto and said, "And I can see you have also managed to catch the two Lear's macaws and the two glaucous macaws."

"Um, it wasn't easy," said Adriana, her eyes on Blu and Jewel, "The parents of the Spix macaw chicks were aggressive. Otis wasn't kidding about these two attacked him."

"I was forced to take brutal measures and actually attack that cerulean macaw," said Paws, pointing to Jewel, "In order to catch her easily."

"Well at least you've caught the family," said Brutus, "That's the big important thing."

His face fell when he saw that Venus, Zephyr and Brisa were missing.

"But where are the other three Spix macaws?" asked Brutus, "Frank wanted all the Spix macaws caught."

"Sorry, Brutus," said Jackie, "But due to the chaos caused by these birds' friends, we were forced to flee, but hopefully they will show up."

"Well I hope they do," said Brutus, "Because every last invaluable macaw counts. Anyway, put those cages with the others."

Paws and his five comrades did so. As the six cats carried the cages to the others, some of the cats came in and padlocked the cage doors of the three cages shut to prevent those that knew how to open cage doors, especially Blu and Jupiter, much to the birds' horror. Brutus proudly watched the caged birds as they were carried towards the other caged birds ready for packing into Frank's trucks when he and his accomplices arrive, and evil smile adorning his face.

"I hope you birdies are lookin' forward to leaving' your beloved country, you precious feathered gems," Brutus sneered. The birds, however, looked back with either frightened or enraged faces as Brutus began following Paws and his five comrades and as they placed the cages with the others. This done, Paws and his five associates left to help the other cats. Brutus then leaped up to the three cages and began to taunt the macaws and Sunset.

"We certainly are looking forward to seein' a lotta paper slips and metallic discs rain down into our paws, you lot," crooned Brutus evilly and greedily, his eyes flashing with dollar signs, "when we sell you lot abroad."

And with that, he giggled. The birds, however, were not amused. Brutus then eyed Sunset and said, "An' I'm sure this pretty lickle pink cockatoo here is lookin' forward to being sold abroad. I have decided that she will join her lil' friends on the market."

"Just wait until the others find you, you fiend," snarled Sunset, her red, yellow and pinkish crest raised and her pink eyes ablaze with rage.

"Yeah," snarled Chiquitita.

"Ah, when they do," replied Brutus, "They will only be caught and caged, like you lot."

Mars then attempted to fiddle with the padlock. He glared at Brutus as he did.

"When I get outa here," he shouted, "I'm gonna give ya a piece of my mind!"

Brutus snickered as Mars continued fiddling with the padlock.

"Fiddle with that all you want, red boy," said the grey cat evilly and mockingly, "We've purposely put padlocks on those cages to stop you from escaping as we've deduced that you're used to cages and know how to open cage doors."

Mars then gave up when he realised he couldn't undo the padlock. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli fiercely glared at Brutus as he eyed them.

"And I can see that you last pair of glaucous macaws have somehow managed to get rid of that chain," said Brutus scornfully, "Well, that won't mean that you two won't be sold together. You're worth big money, you know."

"You just think we're just some ultra rare things, don't you!?" shouted Lapis Lazuli, "You don't even care whether we're living things or just nothing more than nuggets of gold or a precious gemstone."

"You ARE precious gemstones, bluey," said Brutus scornfully, "You and your male friend beside you are the last pair of glaucous macaws on the planet. Because of that, you have a HUUUGE price tag."

"What's it with you and money?" asked Pluto. Brutus just ignored the male glaucous macaw and began to address the birds in the next cage.

"The same applies to you, you two Lear's gemstones," said Brutus to Mercury and Sapphire who both just glared back at him with furious eyes. However, Jupiter and Orquidea stood protectively in front of the Lear's pair.

"You're not going to get away with this, cat," snarled the muscular scarlet macaw, "Saturn and the rest of our group will find you."

"Yeah and they will not hesitate to attack you if they have to," growled Orquidea in agreement. Ignoring the female blue-and-gold macaw, Brutus addressed the male vermillion scarlet.

"If I were you, muscle bird," growled Brutus, a hint of anger and threat piercing through his scornful and condescending attitude, "I'd watch your tongue. You remember last time when I attacked you for clawin' our owners' faces and arms when you escaped from our hideout? You were lucky you managed to escape. This time, you might not be so fortunate. I have an extremely violent temper, and you won't like me when I lose it."

Jupiter just glared back at him, intimidated by the remark. He had to admit that Brutus was right. Whenever Brutus loses his temper, he loses control of himself and becomes like a feral beast. Brutus then jumped over to the final cage containing Blu and his family and began to taunt them. Zephyr and Brisa watched as did Nico and Pedro. As Brutus appeared before Blu and Jewel, their chicks, shivering with fright, cowered in their father's wings while Blu and Jewel glared at the wicked grey cat.

"As for you Spix family," crooned Brutus evilly, "You are as valuable as the last pair of glaucous macaws, especially your chicks. And ooh boy, don't your chickies look frightened."

"Brutus," growled Chiquitita from the first cage when she saw what Brutus was about to do, "Don't you dare intimidate Blu and Jewel's chicks."

Brutus ignored the diminutive green-winged macaw and began to try and taunt Carla, Bia and Tiago. Blu tried to protect his chicks as Brutus then slowly inserted a paw into the cage in a mock attempt to pet the chicks.

"Come on, you three," crooned Brutus sarcastically as the three chicks shook like jelly in Blu's wings, "I only want to pet you."

Carla, Bia and Tiago huddled against their father and whimpered as Brutus's paw inched closer to them. This was something Blu and Jewel will absolutely NOT tolerate. As Brutus continued intimidating his three chicks, Blu took immediate action as hot rage flared within him like a magnesium flash. He lashed at Brutus's paw and bit down on it with his beak. Brutus screeched in agony and withdrew his paw immediately. Then Jewel lashed at Brutus and attempted to rake her claws across his face but she missed by inches.

"You DARE frightened our chicks again, you brute, I'm GONNA CLAW YA FUR OUT!" screeched Jewel. The other birds in the other two cages looked on in both horror and anger. Chiquitita and Mars then struggled in their cage, determined to sink their claws and beaks into Brutus. However, they could not leave their cages for it was padlocked. Jupiter also discharged threats at Brutus like lightning on the clouds of his namesake planet. These threats were so awful that Orquidea, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli actually covered their ears and made horrified faces to prevent listening to the music.

"When I get outa here, you disgusting cat," screeched Jupiter, "I'm gonna CLAW YA LIKE A VICIOUS FALCON!"

Brutus, in response, lost his temper. He lashed back at the birds, especially Blu and Jewel and screeched as loud as a human scream, his eyes flaring like volcanoes, his fur puffed out and his teeth fully exposed. This sent fright exploding through the macaws and Sunset like a violent shockwave and Blu actually screeched in a high pitched squawk.

"IF YOU DARE MESS WITH ME, YOU FEATHERED MENACES," yelled Brutus at the top of his voice, "I WILL LOSE MY TEMPER AND BECOME VIOLENT. NOW EITHER YOU COMPLY OR YOU'LL FACE MY FURY!"

The group of birds cried in pain as Brutus then calmed down and stopped shouting. Zephyr and Brisa flinched harshly as they heard Brutus shout. Nico and Pedro did the same.

"Good grief," gasped Pedro in a low voice. The macaws and Sunset then began to cower and shake violently. Satisfied that the macaws and Sunset would comply, Brutus's fury subsided.

"Good," he growled in a lower voice, "Now you lot behave and be good little birds. I'll be expecting that throughout your journey. Anyway, I've gotta help the other cats prepare for when our owners arrives with the trucks."

And with that Brutus left, leaving the poor macaws and Sunset to shake like leaves. Carla, Bia and Tiago were extremely scared and they shook in their father's wings.

"B-b-b-b-boy," shuddered Blu, "I-I-I-I-I have n-n-n-never known a cat be s-s-s-so vicious."

"Veggie wasn't kidding about that cat," whimpered Jewel timidly. But then determination burned through her.

"It doesn't matter, anyway," she snarled, "When we get out of this cage, I'm gonna pounce onto that cat and give him a piece of my mind."

The other macaws reacted in horror at this.

"But Jewel," shouted Mercury, "That is EXTREMELY unwise. Brutus could kill you."

"Absolutely," said Orquidea, "If Jupiter here barely escaped with his life, you might not be as fortunate as him."

Jupiter, at this, said nothing.

"And believe me," added Sunset, "If that Nigel broke your wing, I'd hate to think what sort of injuries Brutus could inflict on you."

"Sunset and Mercury are right," said Lapis Lazuli, "Seriously, Jewel you cannot challenge that savage cat."

Jewel, at this, reluctantly accepted that fact. However, she still had some determination to give Brutus a piece of her mind, especially if he threatens her three chicks, and she'd defend them to the death if she had to. Defeated, Jewel sat beside Blu as he continued holding the frightened chicks. Soon, Brutus gave the signal that the birds were ready to be packed.

"Awesome job, everyone," he called, "All the caged birds are ready to be packed."

The other cats nodded in approval and some gave each other hi-paws (the cats' equivalent to a human's hi-five) to congratulate each other for a job well done. As they did this, Zephyr and Brisa began to make their move. Nico and Pedro watched in horror as the two Spix macaw siblings prepared to reveal themselves to the cats.

"What are those two doin'?" asked Nico in a low voice.

"Are they mad or what?" asked Pedro. Brutus and his cats, unaware that they were about to be confronted by Zephyr and Brisa as they still hugged the shadows, then began to prepare themselves for the arrival of Frank, Vera, Luke and Marvin in the two trucks.

"Right, our next step after we've caught the last three missing Spix macaws and have packed all the caged birds into the trucks is smuggling them to the airport," said Brutus, "And after we've packed them onto the plane, we're gonna take those birdies out of Brazil and sell them abroad. And hopefully, a lotta paper notes and coins will be landing in our paws and the hands of our owners. Oooh, I can hardly wait!"

He squeaked like a little excited kitten at the thought of becoming rich.

"Oooh, and then what, Brutus?" asked Paws as he and Moggy walked alongside him, "Will we be goin' on holiday like on a luxury cruise or sommat?"

"A cruise would be spectacular," said Moggy as Brutus turned to them.

"Ahh, you'll have to see my cats," Brutus said with a smile on his face, "But whatever future we'll be facing when we get rich, I'm certainly looking forward to it."

Moggy, Paws and some other cats giggled at this in excitement. However, that moment of excitement was shattered when a voice yelled, "How about looking forward to becoming jailbirds, or should I say 'jail-cats'?"

At this, Brutus, Moggy, Paws and a few of the other cats stopped and turned round. To their surprise, they saw two feathered forms, one blue with green eyes and the other cerulean with lime green eyes and both with blue-white heads, and dark grey beaks and feet walk towards them, scowls adorning their faces.

"Wha- well if it ain't two of them three missing Spix macaws," crooned Brutus scornfully as Zephyr and Brisa walked towards them, "What a nice surprise."

Zephyr and Brisa looked at the caged birds as they either sat or squawked in despair. Blu, Jewel, Jupiter, Mercury, Sapphire, Orquidea, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita from their three cages, gasped when they saw Zephyr and Brisa walk towards Brutus.

"Zephyr, Brisa!?" gasped Jewel in disbelief.

"What are you two doing near those cats, you two?" shouted Jupiter, "Get away from them!"

Zephyr and Brisa, at this, turned and looked at them.

"Jewel, guys," shouted Zephyr but before he could run towards them, four cats blocked his path. Brutus put on a smile of smug and mockery.

"Yup, I have caught the Spix macaw family, blue feather-ball," he said smugly. Zephyr eyed the cat and a look of rage returned to his face.

"So, you're now gonna smuggle those five out of Brazil?" he hissed.

"For your information, bluey, yes," said Brutus mockingly, "But they're not the only Spix macaws who are gonna be smuggled out and sold."

At this, Zephyr heard his sister's cries of shock and anger. At this, he whipped round and saw Brisa struggling to break free of some of the cats as they attempted to catch her.

"Let me go you manky moggies," screeched Brisa as she jumped up and kicked two of the cats in the faces with her talons. Hopper then jumped at her and pounced onto her. Brisa tried fighting back but Hopper pinned her down while Adriana and Jackie, two more cats, rushed in to help restrain her. Brutus smiled as he watched three of his accomplices pin Brisa down while Zephyr, together with Blu, Jewel, Jupiter and the others caught, looked on in horror. Zephyr then turned back to Brutus, an angry look on his face once again.

"You see," said Brutus, "Now that you two are here, you're gonna be caged, and then all we've got to do is wait for the other Spix macaw, that female with the pigtails, to turn up and then we're done!"

When Brutus mentioned the brief description of Venus, Zephyr felt his heart lurch with guilt.

"I'm afraid she's not gonna come after me, Brutus," he said in a low voice, "She's not bothered about me."

When Jupiter and the other captured birds heard this, they were shocked.

"Zephyr and Venus have had a bitter falling out?" asked Mars in a low voice. Brutus, however, laughed in mockery.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that she's not interested in you anymore," he crooned sarcastically and in a mocking tone of voice. He then changed his voice to a one of determination.

"But forget about your lil' girlfriend, bluey," said Brutus, "It's time for you to be caged. And hopefully, your girlfriend might show up and when she does, we'll be cagin' her as well."

Zephyr however, felt hot rage burn through him.

"Well, I'm not gonna be caged, you brute," he snarled.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, birdie," said Brutus, "You're one of the three missing Spix macaws, so you're gonna be caged regardless."

As he said this, two cats, a white Persian and an all black cat, came in with an empty cage ready for caging Zephyr and Brisa. Zephyr stole a glance at the cage and looked back at Brutus.

"Well of that is how you want it, cat," he snarled, "I'm not gonna surrender without a FIGHT!"

Brutus, at this, made an angry look.

"Bring it on then!" he shouted. And with that, the Russian grey cat and Spix macaw began to circle. Zephyr had his wings spread out and feathers on end while Brutus had his back arched and fur puffed out as he sauntered in sync with Zephyr diametrically opposite him. Blu, Jewel and the others watched in horror as did Nico and Pedro behind the street bin.

"Is that macaw insane!?" asked Pedro in a low but shocked voice. Jupiter then began to try and see if he could talk Zephyr out of fighting Brutus.

"Zephyr, don't!" he cried, "He'd kill you!"

"Shut up, reddie," shouted a cat with a knock on the cage he, Orquidea, Mercury and Sapphire were in. Zephyr, however, didn't listen to Jupiter's warning and continued circling with Brutus poised to attack. Blu looked on in shock.

"He's absolutely mad," he said in a low voice. Jewel, however, had a scowl.

"More like foolish and brainless," she said. As the grey cat and blue macaw continued circling, Brutus sneered.

"You know something, you blue jackpot bird," he said, "Your species surprises me. I always thought that those two Spix macaws with the three chicks over there (nodding to Blu and Jewel), were the last ever pair of Spix macaws on the planet but after my group had heard that two more had been discovered, we were hit with surprise. And then a third, your pigtailed girlfriend, was discovered again much to our surprise."

Zephyr at this, hissed, "If you're talking about Venus, she's not my girlfriend, cat."

Hopper, Jackie and Adriana as they continued holding Brisa down, just looked at each other and shrugged.

"And then another wave of surprise hit us when a Lear's and a glaucous macaw were discovered near Rio," said Brutus, "Strange really. I always thought the glaucous macaw was entirely extinct and that the Lear's macaw only lived on the far eastern side of Brazil, in the state of Bahia..."

Brutus then shrugged and continued, "But anyway, all that doesn't matter. All that matters is gettin' you and your sister and girlfriend caged and then getting you lot taken to the airport along with your not-as-valuable friends to be smuggled out of Brazil and sold abroad..."

Zephyr then ran towards Brutus, jumped up and attempted to kick the cat in the face but Brutus quickly raised a paw and blocked it. Zephyr then tried attacking Brutus with more kids but Brutus blocked each one with his front paws. Zephyr, at this, backed away surprised.

"Ooh, you're gonna have to get through my reflexes, blue macaw," crooned Brutus mockingly and with that, he beckoned Zephyr with a paw as if to say, 'Come and get some!'

Jupiter, Blu, Jewel and the others watched in horror while Nico and Pedro continued watching unseen behind the street bin. Zephyr then tried to scratch Brutus's face but hovering in the air but Brutus blocked each attempt with his front paws. He stood on his back legs and had his paws protectively covering his face and deflecting Zephyr's attacks. Zephyr then dropped onto the floor and Brutus jumped into the air, twirled and somersaulted elegantly and landed on all fours in another spot.

"Nigel taught me this trick!" Brutus cackled. Zephyr then let loose a squawk, flew towards Brutus and tried to tackle him but Brutus ducked. Zephyr flew around and tried to tackle Brutus again but Brutus grabbed him by the wing with his front paws.

"Is that the best you can do?" said Brutus mockingly as he did it. He then began to spin Zephyr round and round while holding onto his wing, faster and faster like, to the birds that were both human's pets (or in Blu's case, animal companion) and familiar with Olympic sports, a hammer thrower with a metal ball on a string until Brutus was a whirlwind of grey hanging onto a blue and blue-white blur. Then after spinning so fast, Brutus released Zephyr's wing and sent him flying towards the pile of caged birds where he crashed and tumbled, coming to rest near Blu and Jewel's cage much to the cats' laughter and the birds', especially Brisa's, horror. Zephyr then wearily got up and shot Brutus a glare as he trotted towards him and stopped.

"Hah," cackled Brutus, "You fight like a useless pigeon, blue wimp!"

Zephyr, at this, felt hot rage flare up to boiling point.

"Zephyr, no!" cried Jewel but the male green-eyed Spix macaw was too blinded by rage to listen. He got up and rushed back towards Brutus, his temper finally lost.

"YOU ROTTEN, STINKY, FIENDISH FELINE, BRUTUS!" screeched the Spix macaw and with that, he flew toward s him like a rocket and attempted to attack him with his talons and beak but Brutus deflected each and every one of his attempts with his front paws and also by dodging with elegant moves. Once, Zephyr tried biting Brutus but the wicked and sly cat struck him in the face with a paw to block this attempt. Then Zephyr returned to trying to claw Brutus but the cat also deflected each and every one of his attempt with his front paws. After a few more frightening moments of Zephyr's futile attempts to attack Brutus, Brutus finally made his move. Once Zephyr was stood on the ground, Brutus jumped up and spun in the air, his front paws outstretched like a helicopter's motor blades. This manoeuvre confused the Spix macaw greatly. Brutus then landed back down, jumped into the air and did an elegant somersault and landed behind Zephyr. Then just as Zephyr turned round, Brutus lunged at him, his front paws placed on the ground and his back end lifted off the floor, twisted and gave Zephyr a powerful kick across the face with one of his back feet. Zephyr then fell down onto his back as Brutus then got up. The cats laughed with the birds looked on in shock. As Zephyr began to sob his eyes out, Brutus laughed scornfully.

"Why don't you cry your eyes out in a cage, you feathered cry-baby!?" he cackled. Paws and Tom them approached Zephyr from begin and grabbed Zephyr's wings.

"Paws, Tom, cage that macaw with his sister," commanded Brutus, "And make sure to padlock it."

Paws and Tom obeyed and soon, Brisa and Zephyr were caged. Adriana stuffed Brisa into the cage and Paws tossed Zephyr in it with her shortly after. Tom then shut the cage door and the white Persian cat came with a padlock. He padlocked the cage door shut and Zephyr and Brisa were taken by Hopper and Jackie and placed beside Blu and his family. Blu, Jewel, Jupiter, Mercury, Sapphire, Orquidea, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita looked at Zephyr, who still cried his eyes out with tears streaming down his face, with unimpressed looks.

"You brainless nitwit," shouted Jupiter angrily, "You could have been killed."

"Don't you realise what danger you could have put yourself in had you provoked Brutus to fury?" asked Mars.

"Absolutely," said Blu, "Especially after Jewel and I had got a glimpse of what that cat is like when he's enraged."

Jewel just looked on but said nothing. Zephyr just continued crying while Brisa looked at the cats as they continued to prepare for their owners' arrival. Brutus then came by.

"That's seven of the eight last Spix macaws alive caught," he said. He then eyed Brisa and said, "Now all we have to do is wait for the eighth and final Spix macaw, that pigtailed female and your brother's girlfriend, to turn up."

"Haven't you heard what Zephyr told you about Venus, cat?" asked Brisa annoyed, "She's not gonna turn up, so you might as well forget her."

Brutus smiled in mockery at this.

"Ah, but there is one powerful thing that'll attract her, blue brat," he said, "And it has the same effect as a light from a candle flame does to a moth."

"What do you mean?" asked Brisa.

"You'll see how in a minute," said Brutus and with that, he left to help the other cats to prepare for the arrival of Frank, Vera, Marvin and Luke. Brisa, at this, looked at Zephyr as he continued crying. Not only was his heart heavy with grief from not being able to defeat Brutus, but it was also heavy with guilt for what he had said to Venus and about her and Blu and Jewel as well. Nico and Pedro, meanwhile, looked at each other.

"Let's get Saturn and the others," said Nico and with that, the canary and cardinal rocketed off to find Saturn and the others of Jupiter's group.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24- Dash and Ginger find Tulio, Susan and company**

Meanwhile, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Venus, Ruby, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Cobalto, Veggie, Luiz and Rafael were walking along a dark street of Rio. However, their progress was hindered by the weight of disturbance caused by the rather violent falling out between Venus and Zephyr, and Venus was especially weighed down with guilt. In the night sky, stars were thrown across the black blanket like silvery bits of glitter and the half moon was hovering in the sky overhead. However, most of the sea of stars formed by the Milky Way was outshone by the artificial light caused by the streetlights. As the group walked along, Veggie was scanning the dark streets nervously. Though the streetlights provided light for the street, he still felt wary and alert.

"Boy, I never liked walking through city streets at night," murmured the tabby cat nervously, "Especially down alleys. I always think that someone is going to come out and jump at us."

"I always thought most cats like living in the alleys whether it is day or night," said Rafael.

"Not always," said Veggie. He then quivered and cringed as he looked down one alley. The alley looked like a gateway to darkness with the walls fading into the shadows of the buildings forming it, and simply looking at it sent shivers down Veggie's spine and skin. Whimpering slightly with timidity, Veggie ran around the group of walking macaws and Luiz and walked alongside Neptune. After Veggie chose to walk alongside Neptune, Esmeralda began to voice her disgust about Zephyr's attitude.

"You know something," she muttered, "I think Zephyr and Brisa were behaving out of order. They were a downright pair of brats, I think."

"Especially when Zephyr suddenly decided that he didn't care about Jewel just because she has chosen a pet to be her mate," said Ruby, "I'm so disappointed with him."

Saturn sighed when he heard Ruby say this. With Jupiter kidnapped, he had been forced to take over as leader of the remaining group until Jupiter is rescued. As he walked ahead of the group with Venus walking alongside him, Ceres sighed.

"I hope Blu and his family are okay," she said, "That Brutus is a psychotic brute. His chicks aren't going to do well with that money-obsessed feline. In fact, I'm wondering if they're extremely scared."

"What do you expect, Ceres!?" snapped Uranus slightly, "That Brutus is a bully with a savage temper."

Ceres looked at him with an agreeing look. Behind the group, Cobalto was holding his still-sprained wing. He had lost his bandage during the adventure. As he stroked his sprained wing, he heard Rafael mutter something under his breath.

"Sorry?" asked the male blue-throated macaw.

"Oh, sorry, Cobalto," said Rafael, "I was just talking to myself about how I could help Venus reconcile with Zephyr after that falling out."

"I wouldn't if I were you, Rafy," said Cobalto, "Zephyr wouldn't tolerate it."

"Yeah, and furthermore, Venus can be snappy," said Neptune nearby, "So I wouldn't bother."

"Well, I am good at advising newly formed couples on how to keep their relationships alive, Neptune," said Rafael. He then sighed and shook his head.

"But if you're not happy with me getting involved," he said, "Then I'm happy to keep my nose out of your business. After all, it's not my decision to rule how a couple should go about their relationship."

Then he had a thought about his beloved keel-billed toucan mate and his eighteen kids.

"Oh, I hope my lovely Eva's alright," he murmured. Cobalto shot him a frown.

"Yeah, especially after you decided to leave her to watch over that bunch of rambunctious troublemakers by herself," he muttered, "I've been concerned about her being able to cope with all those chicks."

"Look, Cobalto, she's fine," muttered Rafael in return, "Stop worrying about her."

Cobalto sighed and just gazed down at his sprained wing.

"Hey, why are you rubbing your wing, Cobalto?" asked Rafael.

"It's sprained," replied Cobalto, "I injured myself while trying to escape a group of gangster parakeets. I was flying so fast that I just lost control when I had to dodge branch at high speed and just crash landed onto the forest floor, spraining my wing. It was a while before some bird studiers found me and took me in for treatment where I was reunited with my friends Ruby, Esmeralda and the others."

"I see," said Rafael, "And... how long will you be able to fly again?"

"When this wing gets better" replied Cobalto. He then glared at Rafael and said, "Which reminds me. When you return to your family, make sure that those eighteen toucan kids of yours get disciplined. If you don't, they might become troublemakers when they grow up and might be open to joining groups of troublemaking birds, and that is the last thing you and Eva would want for your kids."

Rafael flinched when Cobalto mentioned his kids being prone to joining groups of troublemaking birds.

"I would absolutely not want my kids to join those sorts of birds," he hissed with a frown.

"Well, there you go, then," said Cobalto firmly, "You do care deeply about your kids. And if you do so, show it by disciplining them whenever they are naughty."

"One quality of a good and loving parent is fairly disciplining their kids whenever they misbehave," said Ultramarine with a frown.

"Okay, I'll see to disciplining our kids when we get back to the jungle," Rafael said, "You win."

"One other thing, Raf," said Esmeralda, "Get a babysitter to help with the excess number of chicks."

"Okay," said Rafael. Luiz smiled as Esmeralda said this to Rafael. However, his face and mood fell when he saw how sad Venus was up ahead. Venus then sighed and began to talk to Saturn.

"You know something, ever since we came here to Rio," she said in a sad voice, "I always had the feeling that I somehow... belonged here. Like this is my home."

"If you say so, Venus, I'd agree with you," said Saturn, "Especially since you believe you were born here."

"Strangely enough," said Neptune nearby, "I had the same bizarre feeling that this is where I want to be as well despite apparently being born and raised in England."

"Why not, Neptune," said Ultramarine, "You're a Brazilian bird even though you claim to have been born in the UK."

"But what about Susan and Lucy?" asked Neptune, "And Blake, Drake and Jake?"

"Well, if they want to go home back to England without you or stay here in Brazil, then that's their decision," said Saturn, "You can't make the decision for them."

He then gazed out into the dark cityscape of Rio which was illuminated by the lights from the houses, streetlights and vehicle headlights and further on into the dark silhouette of the jungle.

"Speaking of wanting to stay here, I would like to do so as well," he said, "Especially since Venus, Pluto and Mercury will have to anyway for the sake of their species..."

"I agree," said Uranus. Ceres nodded in agreement. As Uranus said this, Esmeralda looked at Uranus with a happy face. Rafael then fluttered towards Saturn and landed beside him.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it," he said, a wing slung around the male blue-and-gold macaw's shoulders, "You English birds have been brilliant friends and it would be a shame to see you leave."

"Thanks," said Saturn, his mood lifted slightly lifted by this kind comment. Uranus, Ceres and Neptune also made small smiles but Venus, still despondent after the argument with Zephyr, just sighed. Veggie then came forward and put a comforting paw on her shoulder before turning to the birds with a determined look on his face.

"Well, since we've still our friends to rescue, we need to try and locate where those six cats went," he said. Rafael was about to reply when frantic flapping sounds accompanied by tiny bird squawks reached their ears. At this, the group turned and saw a panicked canary and red and grey cardinal flap down towards them. Both birds were puffing and panting rapidly for they had flown so fast. Then as soon as the two had got their breath back, they began to talk.

"Saturn, Uranus, guys!" shouted Nico.

"We've managed to find the captured birds including Blu and his family," said Pedro, "But Zephyr has..."

Then the two broke into a confusing cacophony of squawks and squabbles as they both tried to frantically explain to the group what they had just witnessed such that the group could not understand a word they were trying to say.

"What...?" asked Veggie confused. Then Saturn took action.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, STOP!" he screeched, making Nico and Pedro stop squawking.

"Right," said Saturn, his wings on his hips, "One at a time please. What did you witness?"

"Well, we were following Zephyr and Brisa when they stopped and then descended towards th' ground," explained Nico.

"And as we followed them, we saw a bunch of cats with a pile of caged birds," said Pedro.

"We also saw those six cats that made off of those three cages containing some of our kidnapped friends includin' Blu, Jewel and their chicks," added Nico. Saturn's head jolted upward in horror as he heard this while Veggie's mouth dropped open.

"Did you get a glimpse of that grey cat Brutus?" asked Neptune.

"Yes, we did," said Pedro, a terrified look on his face, "And Zephyr challenged him to a fight!"

Horror exploded through Saturn's group like a shockwave.

"Zephyr did WHAT!?" shouted Venus incredulously.

"He challenged that vicious grey cat, the same one who tormented Blu and his family and threatened to become violent if they didn't comply," explained Pedro, "to a fight. However, that cat managed to beat him and he and his sister Brisa are now caged."

"Zephyr challenged Brutus to a fight!?" shouted Ruby in shock and in a high pitched voice.

"He could have got himself KILLED," said Uranus.

"What are those cats gonna do now, Nico and Pedro?" asked Saturn.

"Those cats are now waitin' for their owners, Saturn," said Nico, "who will be pullin' up with trucks I think it was and they are gonna pack those birds onto those vehicles and take them to the airport!"

As these words were absorbed by the brains of Saturn's group, Venus looked down.

"I can't believe Zephyr would challenge that brutish grey cat to a fight," she said in a low voice, "I hope he isn't too badly injured. If so, I'll never forgive myself."

"Take us to where those cats with the caged birds are AS FAST AS YOU CAN!" shouted Saturn loudly. Nico and Pedro nodded rapidly and then flew off to lead the way. Saturn then dashed off, followed by Uranus, Neptune, Venus, Ceres, Esmeralda, Ruby, Cobalto and Ultramarine. Veggie, Rafael and Luiz followed last.

"Oh, we'd better run like the wind before those cats' owners turn up," cried Veggie, worried for his bird friends especially Blu and his family.

"Okay," said Rafael as he flew alongside the group, "Luiz, I'd like you to come with us. We might need your help."

"I'm right on it, Rafy," said Luiz, his saliva flying behind him. As he ran past the birds to the front, one of his saliva flecks flew and hit Cobalto in the chest. The blue-throated macaw repulsively wiped the drop of spit from his chest.

"Can you try and keep behind please?" he muttered, "You're covering everyone else with your drool."

"Sorry, Cobalt," said Luiz with a wide smile. Then the group disappeared down the street after Nico and Pedro.

At this moment in time, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake and company were driving through another part of Rio. Tulio, Linda and Fernando were with them and were riding in a police car with Susan and Lucy. Francisco, Blake, Drake and Jake and another ornithologist, a woman, were in Francisco's jeep behind the police car. The car had its characteristic blue and red roof lights flashing and siren wailing to alert other road users of its presence and to make way. Tulio looked frustrated and flustered.

"Oh, I HOPE we can find those eight Spix macaws, two Lear's macaws and two glaucous macaws before those smugglers take them to the airport," muttered Tulio, "Especially Blu and his family. We have worked EVER SO HARD to get them to breed and if we don't find them, our efforts to preserve the Spix macaw species are gonna go to waste."

Linda looked on in sympathy. She had never known her husband be so flustered before but it was understandable. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago were especially invaluable like pure diamonds and if those smugglers ever succeed in smuggling them out of Brazil, the results would be ruinous and the Spix macaw project would be wasted. Linda was also very worried. Blu was her beloved animal companion even though he cannot live with her like he used to now. If anything serious ever happened to Blu, Linda would never forgive herself. That same worry also plagued Susan, Lucy and their cousins. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Travis, Sunset, Veggie and Dash were their beloved pets and if they ever got hurt or even killed, they would be devastated as well.

"Look, Tulio," said the policeman who drove the car, "I understand how important catching the smugglers is, but we have to find them first."

"I'm sorry, Officer Miguel," muttered Tulio, "But those birds are mega important. We've GOT to get them back at all costs."

He then buried his face in his hands. He was having a complete meltdown. Linda and Fernando looked at each other with sad eyes. Fernando clearly remembered being part of the first group of smugglers led by Marcel months ago, and how he had caused Linda so much pain when he stole Blu and Jewel from Tulio's Aviary. He still felt guilty now, even though he had since forsaken his career as a smuggler in exchange for a better job which was helping on the Blu Bird Sanctuary and becoming Tulio and Linda's adopted son. But hearing Blu and Jewel get caught by smugglers a second time, this time with chicks, was agonising for him. But this was more agonising for Linda especially since her beloved animal companion had been targeted by smugglers a second time

"We know how you feel, Linda," said Susan. Linda just looked up at her and sighed.

"I just hope that my big brave boy's okay," she murmured. Susan then put a comforting hand onto Linda's shoulder as she began to shed worried tears. While Susan comforted Linda, Lucy continued watching the passing dark streets illuminated by streetlights as the police car continued driving on when she saw two shapes suddenly emerge out of the darkness and into the light of one of the streetlights.

"Officer, STOP!" shouted Lucy. At this, Officer Miguel, the driver of the car, slammed his foot on the brakes. Everyone was jolted like toys in a box inside the car as the police car did a 180 degree spin before sliding to a stop close to a footpath (sidewalk in America). Francisco also quickly pulled up his jeep and it skidded to a halt as well. As soon as the police car had stopped, Lucy and Susan immediately jumped out of the vehicle and rushed towards the two shapes, both of which were greyhounds.

"DASH!" cried Lucy in intense relief and jubilation. With a bark, one of the two greyhounds, the light grey one, charged towards Lucy and jumped into her arms. Susan came and joined the hug as Dash wagged his tail and licked both his owners in the face much to their laughter. Then Blake, Drake and Jake rushed in and joined the hug.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're alright," sobbed Susan as Dash continued wagging his tail. Officer Miguel, Tulio, Linda, Fernando, the other female orniotholigst and Francisco came in just as the group broke their hug. Then Linda noticed the other greyhound, the ginger coloured one.

"Tulio, look, a stray dog," said Linda when she noticed that Ginger had no collar. Tulio turned and saw that Ginger was wearing something on her back. But when the backpack's content was shown, Linda gasped. Drake, Jake and Jake also saw the content, which was a bundle of white feathers with a black beak, pained baby blue eyes and a bright yellow crest.

"TRAVIS!" cried Drake and with that, he, his two triplet brothers, Susan and Lucy rushed over to Ginger. Ginger laid down so that the five humans could open up the backpack she wore and remove Travis. Susan and Lucy unzipped the backpack's opening and Drake carefully removed Travis from the bag. Dash came in and looked on. As soon as Travis was out of the bag, Drake gasped while Susan cried in horror. Travis was still holding his injured chest and his wing flight feathers had a red-brown blotch, and the sulfur-crested cockatoo looked in a lot of pain. Tulio, Linda, Fernando and the other woman looked at the injury on Travis's chest. Lucy, Blake and Jake were also horrified. Then Drake gently placed Travis on the footpath and carefully opened Travis's wings to have a proper look at his injury. However, his wings were stuck to the injury as the red stuff, which was blood had clotted over but Drake could tell what sort of injury Travis had suffered.

"He's been scratched," he said.

"We need to get that bird back to Tulio's Aviary for treatment right away," said Francisco, "Hopefully it's not too serious but if it is, he will require immediate medical attention."

"But what about the kidnapped birds?" asked Tulio. As soon as they heard Tulio say this, Dash and Ginger began to frantically bark. Linda was startled by their sudden barking.

"What's up with them two?" she asked.

"Relax, Linda, Dash and the other greyhound are trying to tell us something," said Susan. She then turned to Dash and said, "What is it, boy?"

Dash continued barking while Ginger indicated to the scratch on Travis's chest. Ginger then quickly reached in to another, smaller pocket of her backpack and brandished a blue feather she had found and collected just before the group left. She then handed it to Drake who then passed it to Tulio.

"This looks like a Spix macaw feather, Tulio," said Drake. Tulio took it and then put it into his mouth to taste it. Dash made a confused expression. After tasting the feather, Tulio's eyes lit up.

"This feather's come from Jewel," he said. He then flashed a glance at the scratch on Travis's chest. As he did this, Ginger was also confused.

"Howe did that man identify which bird that feather had come from?" she asked Dash. Dash just shrugged his shoulders. Susan then looked at Travis's scratch and said, "That was _definitely_ not Veggie's doing as he would never attack birds unless they were a sufficient threat to his feathered friends. It looks like it has been done by another cat."

"Another cat!?" shouted Linda in shock. Then Tulio's eyes widened as something clicked in his head.

"I think it's starting to make sense," he said, "It seems like Jewel might have been captured by that second group of smugglers' cats. And if she's been caught, Blu, Carla, Bia and Tiago will have been caught as well, alongside dozens of other birds including Venus, the other two Spix macaws, Mercury and the other Lear's macaw, the female, and the only two glaucous macaws, Pluto and the female."

He then stood up and said, "We HAVE to hunt down those cats and their owners and get them caught before they succeed in taking those birds out of Brazil."

Turning to Dash and Ginger, Tulio said, "Will you two be able to lead us to where you think those cats might be since you both will be able to sniff them out?"

Dash and Ginger, knowing that their noses were sensitive enough to track the odour of their friends and also those criminal cats and lead the humans to them nodded. Like most dogs, they had noses sensitive enough to track even faint odours that humans would not be able to pick up with their noses. As soon as Ginger and Dash had agreed that they would help Tulio and company, Tulio turned to the woman and Fernando.

"Fernando, Amy, can you take that sulfur-crested cockatoo back to the Aviary and get him treated please, while the rest of us search for those missing birds and the criminals' cats?" he commanded.

"Yes, Dad," said Fernando and with that, he and the other ornithologists named Amy went over to Travis and Drake.

"I'll go with Fernando and Amy," said Drake as he carefully picked Travis up. Then the three went over to Francisco's jeep. Francisco followed them to help get them back to Tulio's Aviary.

"I'll see you lot soon," said Francisco as he left, "Let us know if you've caught those smugglers, okay?"

"We will," said Tulio and with that, Francisco, Fernando, Amy and Drake who carried Travis in his arms, boarded the jeep and Francisco started it up. Then Tulio said to Dash and Ginger, "Right, you two; help us track those cats and the kidnapped birds."

Dash and Ginger nodded and began to put their noses to use.

"It's been quite a while since we did this," said Dash in a low voice.

"You take the lead, Dash," said Ginger, "You'll know the scents of your friends better than I would."

As soon as the greyhounds were ready, Tulio, Linda, Susan, Lucy, Blake and Jake, together with Officer Miguel, returned to the police car and got in.

"Good luck, everyone," said Drake as Francisco started up his jeep. Susan and the others nodded and strapped on their seatbelts as Officer Miguel started up his car. Then soon, everyone was off. The police car began to follow Dash and Ginger as they rushed off to start tracking the cats and their kidnapped birds while Francisco's jeep drove off for Tulio's Aviary.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25- a failed rescue attempt... again!**

Meanwhile, back with Saturn's group, Nico and Pedro had managed to lead them to the smugglers' cats as they continued sorting out the caged birds. Frank, Luke, Vera and Marvin, together with Jack and Jill, had finally arrived with their two stolen trucks and their cloaks and were ready to pack the caged birds into the trucks to smuggle to the airport. While Frank and his group and cats began to load the caged birds onto the trucks, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Venus, Ruby, Esmeralda, Ultramarine, Veggie, Luiz, Rafael and Cobalto hid behind a street bin with Nico and Pedro, the same one Nico and Pedro hid behind while they watched Zephyr fight Brutus only to lose miserably. As the group watched the criminals and their cats, Luiz was shocked.

"Good grief," he murmured in a low voice, "Dis crime is even greater than that chicken float I saw in the Carnival when I participated in the rescue with Blu."

"There's Blu and his family," said Ruby as she spotted a cage containing a blue and a cerulean form. The cerulean form had her wings around something which Ruby could no doubt tell was where the three chicks were.

"And Jupiter, Mercury, Sapphire and Orquidea," said Uranus, "And also Zephyr and Brisa."

The group looked and saw another cage with two more blue macaws and a third cage containing two Lear's macaws, a large vermillion scarlet and a blue-and-gold macaw. Venus was relieved to see that Zephyr and Brisa weren't injured.

"At least Brutus hasn't severely injured them," she said with a sigh of relief. Neptune then caught sighted Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita as Vera handled their cage.

"Come on, everyone," commanded Frank, "Get a move on!"

"There's Pluto and the other four with him by that woman," said Neptune as Vera picked up the cage containing Zephyr and Brisa and then them onto one of the truck's trailers. By Vera's legs was the cage containing Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Mars, Chiquitita and Sunset. Veggie then saw a familiar young pair and a calico cat.

"There's that calico who goes by the name of Catina," he said, "And the youngest accomplices of Frank, Jack and Jill."

The group looked at Jack and Jill as they continued helping with loading the caged birds onto the trucks. Their faces were filled with reluctance and guilt, and Catina's face was no different. She looked concerned for the birds unlike the other cats who were scornful and determined to smuggle the birds out of Brazil.

"There's Brutus," said Saturn as a grey cat with a scornful look on his face jumped in from behind some caged birds. The group then heard a few cats bang on some cages with their paws and say, "Shut up, you irritating feathered moaners!" as the birds in those cages squawked mournfully. Luiz flinched as he heard the cats say this.

"Okay, so how are we gonna bust those birds out of those cages?" Saturn asked, "Any bright ideas?"

"We could jump out and give those cats a piece of our minds," said Ruby, determined to sink her beak and talons into some cat fur, "I would like to tear their fur out."

"How about we act our way in, allow ourselves to get caught and then escape ourselves?" asked Cobalto, "And once we are packed onto the trucks, we can escape and then break the other birds out?"

"How about a diversion?" asked Esmeralda, "That's more appropriate, I believe, and once most of those cats and their owners are distracted, the second group would go and rescue those birds?"

"Le's just say we cause 'em chaos," said Luiz excitedly. Rafael, Nico and Pedro, however remained silent, unsure of what ideas to tell Saturn. Saturn listened to the suggestions and began to decide which one was wisest and most appropriate.

"Alright," he said, "Why don't we go through one idea at a time and select the best one?"

"Remember, we must ensure that no-one gets hurt, especially at the clutches of that wicked Brutus," said Veggie. Ruby then told her idea.

"I would like us all to jump out at those cats and attack them," she said with determination, "Show them feline pests what for based on how they treated us back at the smugglers' hideout. I want to get my own back on those that have injured Zephyr..."

However, Saturn and Veggie immediately shook their heads at this suggestion.

"No, Ruby," said Saturn, "That is not a wise idea. One, revenge is never a good idea as the avenger will also end up in trouble and two, there's a grey cat in that group with a volcanic temper and if you provoke him, he could maul you."

"Someone could get killed at his claws," said Veggie. He stole a glance at Brutus as he taunted a few parakeets as they sobbed.

"So, simply leaping out upon those cats would only result in injuries. Sorry to disappoint you, Ruby but that's out of the question," said Saturn. Ruby sighed in defeat and reluctantly agreed.

Cobalto then repeated his idea and said, "Wouldn't acting our way in, allowing ourselves to be caught and then breaking out after we've been loaded onto the truck work?"

"No, Cobalto," said Saturn, "There'll be cats on constant watch on all the birds while we get smuggled to the airport. Besides that, allowing ourselves to be captured would only allow the smugglers to succeed in their plans, especially with catching Venus here for she's the only other Spix macaw those smugglers and their cats are after."

At this, Cobalto sighed and accepted the rejection of his idea.

"Yeah," said Rafael, "I agree with you, Saturn. We could do with a plan that would stall the smugglers and their cats for time... a plan that would involve a distraction of some kind..."

"That's why I suggested that a distraction would be appropriate," said Esmeralda, "Let's say one group diverts some of the cats and their owners and keeps them occupied while another rescues the caged birds..."

"Dat's what I said, meatball," said Luiz, "Causin' them chaos."

When Esmeralda gave the bulldog an offended look, Luiz laughed.

"Sorry, my green macaw friend," he said, "I was only jokin'."

Esmeralda just rolled her eyes in irritation at the bulldog's silky jokes when Saturn then snapped his wingtips.

"A distraction, that's it," he said, "Esmeralda, you're a genius."

"Gracias (thank you)," said Esmeralda with a proud smile.

"Hey, I also helped to suggest the idea too," muttered Luiz. With the appropriate idea selected, Saturn moved on to putting the team into groups.

"Okay, so who will be in the diversion group and who will be the rescuers?" he asked. At first, the rest of the team didn't answer for they both wanted to rescue their friends and cause a distraction. Then Esmeralda came forward.

"I'll be in the diversion group," she said.

"And I will be," said Ultramarine, "As we hyacinth macaws will be quite difficult to catch."

"I'll help in the diversion group too," said Ceres.

"I'll help in the rescue task," said Veggie.

"So will I," said Venus. The others, however, remained silent, unsure whether to be part of the rescue team or the diversion team.

"Okay," said Saturn, "I'll put the rest of you into the two groups myself. Can those of you who have decided already form those groups please?"

Esmeralda, Ultramarine and Ceres got into one group while Venus and Veggie got into another, leaving the rest exposed and for Saturn to choose which team they will be in. Saturn then began to allocate the rest of the group into the two groups.

"Uranus, Nico, Pedro, myself and Cobalto will be part of the rescue group," said Saturn, "While Rafael, Luiz, Neptune and Ruby will join Esmeralda, Ceres and Ultramarine on the diversion group."

"Hey, why am I to be part of the diversion group?" protested Luiz. Ultramarine looked at him.

"Because your drool would make a great contribution to the chaos we're going to cause the distracted smugglers, dog," she said flatly. Luiz, at this, smiled widely.

"Cool," he said. Then Saturn began to assign the tasks to the groups.

"Right, Esmeralda, you lead the distraction group to an appropriate spot and lure the poachers and as many cats as you can away from the caged birds and keep them occupied while the rest of us will try and save as many birds as possible, including those that have been kidnapped, especially Blu and his family."

"Got it," said Esmeralda.

"And for goodness' sake, be careful of Brutus if he joins the group you distract," said Veggie in a serious voice, "That cat is extremely dangerous when provoked."

"We're aware of that risk, Veggie, thanks," said Neptune. Esmeralda, at this, cringed slightly. She did not want to risk herself or the other six getting clawed by that savage cat. Rafael also made a nervous look but shrugged it off.

"Well, then, let's get on with it," he said.

"Okay, good luck everyone," said Uranus and with that, the two groups split up. Esmeralda led the distraction group by the lamppost and towards a suitable spot where they hid behind a parked car, while Saturn remained with the rescue group behind the street bin ready for action once Esmeralda's group have distracted a lot of the poachers and their cats.

Back with the poachers, Frank looked among the caged birds both on the floor still to be packed and already in the trucks, smiling that both Lear's macaws and both glaucous macaws were present. However, he was not satisfied with the presence of the Spix macaws.

"Marvin, Vera, Luke," he said to the other three adults as they continued lading the caged birds onto the trucks with the cats, "Where is the other Spix macaw?"

"Other Spix macaw?" asked Luke as he held a cage containing three toucans. Jack and Jill were too busy to listen to Frank's question.

"Yes," snapped Frank, "There are eight last Spix macaws on the planet but only seven are present: the Spix macaw family of five including the three chicks and the two other adults. There's a fifth adult Spix we still need to catch."

Luke, Marvin and Vera just shrugged and continued loading the trucks with more caged birds. Brutus, however, had a wicked and sly smile on his face as Frank groaned.

"I said I wanted all EIGHT Spix macaws caught," he growled, "Each and every one of them is a valuable individual worth a lot of money."

He then did a facepalm by slapping his forehead with a hand and said, "I just HOPE we catch that final Spix macaw soon or we're gonna leave with just the seven as we don't have time to search for it and catch it."

As he said this, Esmeralda peered out from behind the parked car and prepared to put her part of the plan into action.

"Okay," she said to Ultramarine, Ceres, Rafael, Luiz, Neptune and Ruby behind her and behind the parked car, "Here's what we're going to do..."

Vera then attempted to picked up the cage containing Pluto and the other four when Lapis Lazuli lashed at her and attempted to bite her fingers. Vera quickly put the cage down before the female glaucous macaw could do so.

"Good grief," she said, "Vicious bird."

"Look, just continue with loading the birds onto the trucks, Vera," said Frank in annoyance as he placed another cage onto a truck, "We don't have time for any delays. We need to get to the airport as soon as possible before those cops turn up and find us."

Vera nodded and was about to pick up Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita's cage again when suddenly, Marvin's voice rang out.

"Guys, look," he said, "There's a hyacinth macaw over there by that car. What shall we do? Shall we catch and cage it?"

Frank followed Marvin's pointed finger and saw a large navy blue bird with yellow facial features and black beak standing by the parked car, advertising himself as if to say, 'come and get me'.

"Just ignore it," Frank said, "and continue to load the caged birds onto the trucks. That hyacinth macaw's worthless compared to the Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws, anyway."

Marvin continued gazing at the hyacinth macaw which was Neptune and then returned to work. Neptune sighed and flopped his wings down in frustration.

"This isn't working at all. Venus should have joined our team," he muttered to Esmeralda and the other four behind her, "Do any of you have a plan B?"

Ruby then emerged out of the line between Ceres and Rafael and stormed past Neptune.

"Look, allow me, hyacinth pal," she growled. Esmeralda saw what Ruby was about to do.

"Ruby, DON'T!" she cried but the female scarlet macaw ignored her and stormed straight towards the cats and the caged birds. She then stopped and shouted to the cats, "Hey, you cats!"

At this, many cat heads stopped concentrating on loading the caged birds onto the trucks with their owners and turned in the direction of Ruby.

"There's a Spix macaw right behind this car with us," shouted Ruby, "The one you are after. If you wanna come and catch it, you'd better rush over here, fast!"

At this, the majority of the cats stopped their work and, without hesitation, charged off after Ruby like a swarm of bees after an intruder, falling for the bait Ruby had given them. Ruby, with a large grin on her face, turned tail and dashed off back towards the parked car.

"Here we go," she said to the other five, "Prepare for action!"

Rafael, Esmeralda, Neptune, Ultramarine, Luiz and Ceres did so. As the cats continued rushing towards where Esmeralda's group hid, Marvin saw the cats run away towards the car.

"Hey, you lot!" he shouted and with that, he rushed off after the cats. Then suddenly, cat screeches erupted into the night air as the cats were ambushed by something. These screeches reached the ears of the other owners and the remaining cats. Frank turned his eyes in the direction of the source as Luke and Vera dashed off after Marvin.

"What the (bleep) is going on!?" shouted Frank. Brutus and the remaining cats including Catina, nearby, also glared at the three owners as they rushed off towards the attacked cats, Catina a concerned look on her face. Jack and Jill then tried to run after the other three owners but Frank grabbed their arms.

"What do you two think you're doin'?" growled the smuggler leader, "Get back to work, will you?"

Jack and Jill obeyed and continued picking up more cages. Then the remaining smugglers and cats returned to work, leaving Vera, Marvin and Luke and the other cats to struggle with Esmeralda's group as the five birds and bulldog attacked them and dodged their attempts to fight back. However, Ruby's distraction seemed to have worked as with fewer cats and human hands present, progress of loading the caged birds onto the truck has slowed down. With many of Frank's group distracted, Saturn and his group began to make their move. Making careful sure that Frank and the remaining members with him weren't aware of their presence, Saturn stealthily led the group towards the pile of bird cages.

"Right, Nico, Pedro, Cobalto, Veggie and Uranus, you rescue as many of those caged birds in that pile as possible and make sure you find Pluto and Jupiter's cages in the process," said Saturn in a low voice, "While I and Venus search for Blu and his family, and Zephyr and Brisa on board that truck."

The canary, cardinal, blue-throated macaw, tabby cat and great green macaw nodded and set to the task while Saturn and Venus quickly ran over to the truck. Making sure that Brutus, Frank, Jack and Jill and the remaining cats weren't looking, the two quickly climbed the truck's side and into the trailer. In the pile of caged birds, a family of blue-and-gold macaws: a mother, father and two chicks, smiled when they saw Cobalto unlock the bolt and open it.

"Why you heroic macaw," said the father, "Thanks a lot..."

"Shh," hissed Cobalto, "Take your mate and two chicks and make a break for it. We don't have much time."

The male blue-and-gold nodded and quickly led his mate and two chicks out of the cage and took off into the night sky while Cobalto moved on to free the next group of birds. Nico and Pedro then set free some small birds, among them Tiny and they quickly took to the sky as well.

"Why thank you, Mr. Nico and Mr Pedro," squeaked Tiny, "Those cats sure were..."

"Look, just flee," said Pedro. Tiny did so and followed her small companions into the night air. Veggie then set a group of parakeets free and they took off after Tiny's group. Uranus released three green-winged macaw and they also took off. While Cobalto, Nico, Pedro, Uranus and Veggie continued freeing more birds from the pile yet to be loaded onto the trucks, Saturn and Venus began to search for Zephyr, Brisa and Blu and his family amongst the packed caged birds. Meanwhile, back with Esmeralda's group, Esmeralda jumped into the air as a cat dived at her in an attempt to catch her. As soon as the cat was below her, Esmeralda did a powerful body slam attack, flattening the cat and drawing the breath out of him. Nearby, Ruby grabbed two cats with her wings and literally banged their heads together to knock them out. Vera, Marvin and Luke were trying to catch Ultramarine and Neptune but they dodged and kept attacking their feet. Then a drooly bulldog rushed in and began barking and snapping at the three humans' heels. As he thrashed his head this way and that, drool drops flew from his mouth and into the faces of the cats.

"Eeeww," cried one cat, "Gross!"

The others also wailed in revulsion as Luiz continued barking at Vera. Vera screamed and backed away but Neptune positioned himself in her tracks, making Vera catch her feet on his enormous body and trip over him. Vera fell backwards and crashed into Luke. The two humans then both crashed in a heap on the floor. As soon as both humans had fallen down, another dark navy blue bird jumped in and went straight for their faces with her talons. The young man and woman then cried out in pain as Ultramarine clawed them across the faces.

"This is what you GET for mistreating BIRDS, you ANIMAL ABUSERS!" she screeched and jumped up and scratched Luke on the arm with another talon swipe. Luke cried out in pain and grasped his arm which began to bleed slightly. Ultramarine then set to biting Luke with her powerful beak when suddenly, a pair of human arms wrapped around her body and pulled away. Marvin had come in and had grabbed the hyacinth macaw. Fuelled by rage, Ultramarine began to try and bite Marvin but he clasped his hand on her beak. One of the cats, Paws, saw this and shouted to a group of cats, "Get some empty cages, QUICK!"

The group of cats obeyed and rushed off while Marvin continued struggling with Ultramarine. Suddenly, a green, azure blue, red and yellow macaw jumped up and landed on his head. Marvin cried in pain as Esmeralda then began to claw him down the back of his head. Marvin reached up to try and grab the female great green macaw off his head but Esmeralda dodged his hands while Ultramarine, together with Neptune and Luiz, attacked more cats and Ruby, Ceres and Rafael began their assault on Vera and Luke as the two humans stood up. Ceres managed to scurry up Luke's leg and as soon as she was on his arm, she did something she had never at all done before since Blake, Drake and Jake had purchased her as a chick, but it was something an African grey parrot, a pet of one of Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake's friends and neighbours back in London had told her was the best and most powerful form of defence utilised whenever a parrot was in great danger. Opening her beak as wide as she could, Ceres slammed the two parts of her beak back together onto the skin of Luke's arm like a dog biting onto a chew toy. An ear piercing scream erupted from Luke as he felt searing pain shoot through his arm from Ceres's bite site.

"That's it, Ceres," shouted Ruby as she wrestled with two cats nearby, "Show that wretched poacher you mean business!"

Luke then began to try and get Ceres of his arm but the blue-throated macaw had already released her grip on it and had jumped down, and Luke was left with a very painful and bleeding bite injury on his arm. Then Luiz ran in and barked at Luke, making him back away and then lose his balance. Luke fell backwards again on the hard floor, slamming his backside against the hard, stony and concrete surface. Luiz laughed out loudly.

"This is th' first time I have ever participated in a fight against criminal humans," he said. Ceres then gave Luke an unsympathetic glare as he held his bleeding arm, where she had bitten him and returned to helping Rafael as he struggled with a few more cats. While Esmeralda's group continued fighting Vera, Marvin, Luke and most of the cats, Nico and Pedro continued setting free more and more birds with Cobalto and Uranus helping nearby. Veggie had managed to locate Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita's cage and had rushed off for it. As Veggie appeared before them, Mars popped his head up in surprise.

"Veggie?" he said.

"Shh," said Veggie, "We're busting you outa here."

"Oh, thank goodness," said Chiquitita, "I'm getting rather claustrophobic in this cage."

"How did you find us?" asked Pluto, "And where are Dash and Travis?"

"No time to explain," said Veggie as he began to check the caged door. However, to his frustration, it was padlocked.

"Oh, no, no, no, NO!" snarled Veggie in frustration, "This'll take me ages to unlock with one of my claws."

"Veggie," said Lapis Lazuli in a low voice, "Those cats had suspected some of us to be domesticated birds who know how to open cages and had used padlocks to make it harder for us to escape."

Veggie just sighed and set to trying to undo the padlock anyway. He clicked a claw and inserted it into the keyhole.

"Well, either way, we're not gonna allow those poachers to smuggle you lot out of Brazil," he said. Sunset's red, yellow and pinkish crest fanned out and her pink eyes widened as she gazed at something behind Veggie.

"VEGGIE!" she cried. At this, Veggie turned and found himself confronted by a white cat with orange and black blotches...

Back with the other four, Cobalto had set free more small birds, which were honeycreepers and colourful finches. Nico and Pedro then worked on the lock keeping a group of four chestnut throated macaws in their cage.

"Boy, I'm so glad we've learned how to open cages, Nico," said Pedro with a wide smile on his face.

"Yeah," said Nico, "That experience when we helped Blu, Rafael and Jewel to bust those birds out of those cages when we were on board that plane has proved valuable."

"Yeah, I'm sure it did," said Uranus nearby as he set free another green-winged macaw. Suddenly, the great green macaw, cardinal, canary and male blue-throated macaw were stopped dead when they heard a familiar voice say, "An' I'm sure you'll be lookin' forward to facin' being smuggled out of Brazil without fail this time, you four meddling birdies."

At this, Nico, Pedro, Uranus and Cobalto looked up and found themselves confronted by a mean grey cat with evil brown eyes...

Back in the truck, amongst the caged birds, Zephyr and Brisa continued looking at the floor with saddened eyes. In the cage next to them, Blu and Jewel sat with their wings around their terrified three chicks. Zephyr, though he had stopped shedding tears, refused to even look at the Spix macaw family, feeling deeply guilty for being so insulting to Blu and Jewel and also selfish and simply leaving them to face a certain fate of being taken out of Brazil and torment from the mean cats. Unlike Blu and Jewel's cage, Zephyr and Brisa's cage had not been padlocked for the cats believed that Zephyr and Brisa did not know how to operate cage locks. While Zephyr had his head bowed with his face staring at the cage floor, Brisa stole a brief and sad glance at the cage door lock when suddenly, a maya blue bird with two sets of head feathers resembling pigtails appeared with a dark aqua blue and yellow bird with a green forehead and crest, black beard like marking on his throat and black beak. Zephyr, Brisa, Blu and Jewel popped their heads up and widened their eyes in amazement at the two birds.

"Venus, Saturn?" asked Zephyr in surprise. Venus then went over to Zephyr and Brisa's cage and easily unlocked it while Saturn went over to see to Blu and Jewel.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Brisa as Venus opened the door.

"No time to explain," said Venus, "We must get out of here now."

Zephyr and Brisa, at this, looked at her before finally leaving the cage via the opened door. As the two siblings exited their cage, Saturn grunted in frustration when he saw the padlock.

"Never dealt with padlocks before?" asked Blu.

"Not on a cage, I haven't," snapped Saturn angrily. He then took a step back and glared at the padlock.

"How rotten can those bird thieves GET!?" shouted the male blue-and-gold macaw in fury, earning himself a slight stare from some nearby caged birds, "First they stuff us into these cages as though we're some sort of soft things or something, then they chain a pair of glaucous macaws together among some other things such as injuring some of us and now THIS!? Those poachers and their cats are one bunch of uncaring wretches with an obsession with money."

"I couldn't agree more to that, Saturn," growled Jewel. Saturn then looked at the padlock closely again. Venus also took a look at it.

"There's got to be a key to that padlock somewhere," she said.

"Well if there is," said Blu, "The leader of the smuggler group would have it in the driving seat of this truck but finding it might be very difficult."

Saturn then looked at his still-damaged wing flight feathers.

"We still cannot fly with these tattered feathers but I'll give it a try," he said. Suddenly, a familiar voice of scorn stopped Saturn and Venus in their tracks.

"I'm afraid you're goin' NOWHERE, my precious feathered gemstones," it said. Then before Saturn and Venus could recognise the voice's owner, two cat paws appeared behind Zephyr and Brisa and shoved them back into their cage. Venus then found herself shoved into the cage with Zephyr and Brisa while Saturn was shoved into another, empty cage much to Blu and Jewel's shock. As the male blue-and-gold macaw stood up, he found himself gazing into the scorn-filled brown eyes of a grey cat as he slammed the door shut and padlocked it. Behind Brutus, two more cats padlocked Zephyr, Brisa and now Venus's cage so that the three Spix macaws could not escape.

"Nice try, blue and yellow feathered gem but," said Brutus mockingly, "You've failed. We've also caught the rest of your little meddlers."

And with that, he gazed in a certain direction with a smug look on his face. Saturn, Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Venus and Brisa, at this, turned and to their horror, they found Esmeralda's group and the rest of Saturn's group caught and caged. Esmeralda, Ceres, Rafael and Ruby were in one cage; Neptune and Ultramarine were each stuffed into two more cages, one of their own, Luiz in another, Nico, Pedro, Cobalto and Uranus in yet another, and Veggie in his own. Their cages were held by cats with smug looks on their faces apart from one, a female calico. The group of birds, cat and bulldog wore disappointed and glum looks on their faces but when Saturn and the Spix macaws saw that Nico was being cradled in Pedro's wings, unconscious and that Uranus was holding his left wing with a pained expression on his face, they were horrified.

"NICO!" cried Blu, "URANUS!"

"What did you DONE TO THAT CANARY AND THAT GREEN MACAW!?" bellowed Saturn to Brutus.

"Me?" said Brutus with narrowed eyes filled with no sliver of remorse, "I... whacked that yellow canary with a paw to knock him out after he threw his bottle cap hat into my face on refusal to step into the cage. I wasn't gonna have any of it. He's unconscious and will recover later. As for that green macaw, I clawed him down the wing as a threat of what would happen if he didn't comply."

At this, Saturn and the Spix macaws turned and saw that Uranus's wing was bleeding, a red bloom having formed on the cerulean flight feathers of his right wing. Luckily, the injury wasn't too serious but Brutus could have chosen to inflict a more serious injury on him instead. Jewel then shot Brutus a glare.

"You're gonna pay for this, you BRUTE!" she yelled.

"I think not, you cerulean bar of gold," crooned Brutus with a smug smile on his face. He then went over to Zephyr, Venus and Brisa and eyed them with a scornful look on his face.

"You know sommat, pigtails," said Brutus to Venus, "There was one thing Nigel once told me about love."

"And what is that?" retorted Venus angrily.

"That it is a powerful and stupid thing," replied Brutus with a wicked smile on his face, "And it is. It narrows its victim's field of view right down so that only their love is their focus. As a result, the victim does not see the danger and ends up caught; like a moth to a flame, so to speak."

Brutus then leaped out of the way as the cages containing Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita, and Jupiter, Mercury, Sapphire and Orquidea were placed beside Saturn and the Spix macaws. The nine birds gasped when they saw an unconscious Nico and an injured Uranus while Brutus looked on sadistically.

"As soon as we get to the airport," he said, "We're gonna deal with that tabby cat and that bulldog while that female blue-throated macaw (referring to Ceres), is gonna be severely disciplined for biting one of my owners on the arm. He's become unable to help us with the last of the packing of the caged birds as a result."

Ceres, at this, only gave Brutus a bitter glare in return. Brutus then heard Frank call him.

"Come on, Brutus," said Frank, "We need your help in packing the last of the caged birds."

Brutus smiled and then turned to face the caged birds, Veggie and Luiz once more.

"Enjoy the journey, you lot," he said, "You've got a long flight ahead of you so make sure you're prepared."

And with that, he gave a meow-y cackle and jumped out of the truck's trailer to help the other cats and the owners apart from Luke, leaving the birds, Veggie and Luiz to sit in their cages, upset and disappointed at another failed rescue attempt.

"Well, that went well," said Esmeralda flatly and sarcastically. She then looked at Uranus and felt a flash of sympathy as he continued gripping his scratched wing. Pedro continued cradling the unconscious Nico in his wings while the others looked on.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26- at the airport but the birds break free**

Frank and his group and cats continued loading the last of the caged birds onto the two trucks. As they did so, Frank admired Zephyr, Brisa, Venus, Blu, Jewel and their chicks. The five adult macaws, however, looked back at him with bitter scowls on their faces.

"Looks like we've finally caught all eight Spix macaws along with the two Lear's and two glaucous, folks," he said, "Well done. This is exactly what I want."

He then turned to some of the cats including Brutus and said, "And I'd like to congratulate you, my cats, for helping us to catch all twelve of the valuable birds. We're going to reward you once this job is completely done."

Brutus and his comrades smiled as they accepted their chief owner's praise. Catina, however, did not smile and looked down with her ears dropping. While Frank, Vera, Marvin, Jack, Jill and the cats continued loading more cages onto the trucks, Luke managed to find a first aid kit in the driver's section of the second truck. He had been rendered unable to help with the task due to the bite injury Ceres had given him as well as the scratch Ultramarine had inflicted on him, and those injuries were still bleeding. Vera, Marvin and Luke still had the scratches on their faces and arms inflicted on them by Jupiter earlier but those scratches had healed up. Then as soon as Luke had managed to find a bandage and some wipes, he picked them up, managed to open the pack of wipes and take one out and then, with his other hand, Luke began to clean the blood off his bitten and scratched arm, wincing in pain as he did it. Then he got the bandage and began to wrap it around the same arm with his teeth and other hand, unable to use the hand of his injured arm much due to so much pain. As he did this, Marvin came by while carrying two cages of birds and loading them onto the second truck's trailer.

"Have we nearly done yet, Marvin?" asked Luke as some cats also followed Marvin with more caged birds.

"Almost," muttered Marvin as he helped the cats place the caged birds into the truck, "There's still a few dozen cages left to pack."

Luke sighed and leaned back in the passenger's seat as Marvin left to get more cages. It took quite a while but finally, all the caged birds were completely packed. This done and the cloaks pulled down over the caged birds and fastened to the hooks built around the trailers' rims, Frank said, "Right, everyone, let's get out of here before anyone sees us."

And with that, some of the cats jumped into the trailers under the cloaks to keep an eye on the caged birds while the humans and some other cats got into the driver and passenger's section of the trucks. As soon as the poaching group had boarded the trucks, they fastened the seatbelts and Frank and Marvin, who were going to drive the trucks, started up the trucks' engines. Then a few seconds later, the smugglers drove away down the road.

A good while later, Dash and Ginger continued running down the street and occasionally sniffing the scent of their friends. Officer Miguel continued driving his car after the two greyhounds. Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake, Tulio and Linda looked on with fear and fret-filled eyes as the two greyhounds led the group in the police car through the streets. At this moment, Francisco, Drake, Fernando and Amy had arrived back at Tulio's Aviary, which was still closed off by the black and yellow 'Do Not Cross' ribbons in Francisco's jeep. A police officer had to open one of the ribbons to allow the jeep through. Then as soon as Francisco had pulled up the jeep quickly but carefully into a parking space, he, Amy, Drake and Fernando, with Drake carrying a bundle wrapped in a towel which was Travis, quickly got out of the jeep and ran off for the aviary's entrance. Drake looked down at Travis as he continued holding his scratched chest but top his relief, Travis was still alive. As the four humans rushed through the entrance of Tulio's Aviary and into the medical room, Francisco began to give orders.

"Right, Drake, you put that cockatoo down on a medical worktop," he said, "Amy, you get the appropriate medical equipment, you know what to get, and Fernando, you help Drake keep that cockatoo calm while we sort out the medical equipment we will need to treat that bird."

And with that, the four scattered to carry out their tasks. Fernando and Drake gently placed Travis who was wrapped in a towel, down onto a worktop. Around the two, a few employees were on nightshift, taking care of the birds that had been brought in for treatment, while guards were out on patrol for the night. However, due to what happened the other night, the atmosphere was slightly edgy in the medical room. As Drake preleased Travis, who looked back at him and Fernando with saddened baby blue eyes, Fernando sighed.

"This reminds me of how Nigel managed to allow me into this place to steal Blu and Jewel," murmured Fernando, "He was pretending to be an injured bird, but Travis here, his injury's real."

"I hope that scratch is not too serious," said Drake. Travis sighed and still had his wings clasped to his scratched chest. By now the blood had clotted, and the cockatoo's flight feathers were stuck together from the clotting material of the blood that had leaked from the injury. Luckily, Travis was not too badly injured.

"I just hope Tulio and the others catch those smugglers and rescue our other pets and the other birds before those smugglers take them out of Brazil," murmured Drake. Fernando put a comforting arm on his shoulder as he sighed in sadness. Travis also sighed and hoped that the other birds, especially Blu and his family and Sunset, were alright. Back with Tulio and company, Dash and Ginger continued sniffing the birds' scent until they led the police car containing Tulio and the other six with him including Susan and Lucy, to the spot where Frank and his group had loaded their trucks with the caged birds. As soon as the two greyhounds had slowed down and began to sniff the area out, Officer Miguel pulled the police car up and Tulio, Susan, Lucy, Linda, Blake and Jake got out of the car.

"What have you found, boy?" asked Susan. Dash looked up at her and continued sniffing the area. Linda came up to her as Dash then began to walk away. Nearby, Lucy, Blake and Jake walked up to Ginger as she sniffed an area not too far away from Dash's investigation spot.

"You know," said Jake, "I'm wondering if that greyhound is a stray. She doesn't have a collar which means she might not be owned by anyone..."

"Let's just get this over with first," said Lucy. Jake sighed and took a step back when he felt his foot land on something a bit lumpy. Turning his head down to see what it was, Jake saw that the ankle of his foot had landed on a bit of navy blue. Curious, Jake leaned down and picked it up to examine it closely. It was a large dark navy blue feather, presumably from a wing based on its type and size. As Jake looked at the feather, Dash's nose lead him to a scatter of a few more feathers. As soon as Dash found these feathers, he barked to get Susan and Linda's attention. At this, Susan and Linda ran over to Dash while Tulio was on his mobile phone to the aviary providing updates on the search for the smugglers.

"What have you found, boy?" asked Susan. Dash backed away to allow Susan and Linda to lean down and look at what he had found. When Susan and Linda saw some feathers, they immediately picked them up. Two or three of the feathers were cerulean and one was blue, and Susan noticed that two of them were off-white with a splash of dark salmon pink running along one edge. At this, Susan picked up these feathers and examined them closely. There was only one bird from which these feathers had come from.

"Sunset," whispered Susan in a low voice. Only Sunset had off-white feathers with a blotch of salmon pink on them, especially on her wings and tail as she was the only Major Mitchell's cockatoo present. Linda then picked up the cerulean and blue feathers and looked at them, before running off to Tulio.

"Tulio," she cried, "We've found some feathers!"

Tulio continued talking on his phone when he heard his wife's voice. At this, he looked up and saw Linda running towards him.

"Oh, I gotta go, sorry," he said, "Bye."

And with that, he pressed the hang up button and put his phone away just as Linda stopped before him to show him the feathers.

"What is it, Linda?" asked Tulio. Linda showed him the blue feathers while Susan ran up. Lucy, Blake, Jake, Dash and Ginger also ran up towards Tulio. Tulio then took the feathers and tasted two of them by inserting them into his mouth. At this, his eyes lit up.

"These are Spix macaw feathers," he said, "From that recently found male and female which we now know to be siblings, to be exact."

Dash, at this, recognised which macaws Tulio was on about.

"Zephyr and Brisa," he murmured.

"Tulio," said Jake as he held up a large navy blue feather, "Neptune and the female hyacinth macaw were here as well. This feather could have only come from him or the female."

"And these feathers are from Sunset," said Susan, holding up the salmon pink and off-white feathers. Then Lucy began to deduce something.

"Well, if Neptune, Sunset and those two Spix macaws were here," she said, "Then that means that the others including Mercury, Venus and Pluto, could have been here as well."

"Blu and his family could have been here too," said Linda. Just then, Blake called everyone over.

"Guys," he called. At this, the other five humans and the two greyhounds walked over to him.

"What is it, Blake?" asked Tulio. Blake then picked up what he had found and showed it to him. They were fine filaments and some were coloured.

"These look like cat hairs," said Blake, "It looks like the smugglers' cats were here too."

Tulio then began to piece together the evidence until he finally came to a conclusion.

"Well, if those cats were here, then that would mean their owners would have been present as well," said the ornithologist, "And since those birds including all eight Spix macaws, both glaucous macaws and both Lear's macaws were here as evidenced by those feathers, then that means those smugglers and their cats had captured those birds here and caged them right here in this spot..."

"Well, if they were here," said Linda, "Why aren't they here now?"

"Maybe they could have left for somewhere else?" asked Susan. Then dread hit Tulio as he deduced where the smugglers and their cats were headed.

"I think that 'somewhere else' could be the airport, Susan," he said, "We MUST catch up with those smugglers and stop them before they get to the airport and start loading a plane with their captured birds. Come one, everyone, back to the car!"

Then without hesitation, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake, Linda, Dash and Ginger hurried off back to the police car with Tulio close behind. As the group got in and fastened their seatbelts, Tulio said to Officer Miguel, "To the airport, quickly!"

"Okay dokey, no problem," said Office Miguel, "I'll alert the other police officers of where they are headed on the way."

And with that, he started up the engine and within seconds, the car was back on its pursuit of the smugglers.

"I hope we can catch those smugglers before it's too late," whimpered Dash, worried for his bird friends.

"Those birds have been caught," said Ginger, "Could Veggie and Luiz have been captured too?"

Dash remained silent as the police car disappeared down the road.

Back with the smugglers, Frank and Marvin continued driving their trucks down the streets of Rio. Hidden in the trailers under thick cloaks, the caged birds with cats keeping eyes on them were hidden. As Frank had anticipated, there were police cars and police officers everywhere. However, the police officers simply assumed the hidden load of Frank and Marvin's trucks to be nothing more than regular loads for they had seen trucks similar to them before and simply let them past. To make things more convincing, the cats riding in the drivers' section had hidden themselves and Vera, Luke, Jack and Jill , together with Frank and Marvin, wore brightly coloured coats and builders' helmets to pretend to be builders on their way to a building site and that the load in their trucks were bricks or other building material. Taken in by this disguise, the police officers allowed Frank and Marvin to drive past. Frank and Marvin continued driving their trucks through the night time roads of Rio and because it was night, by now the early hours of the morning, it wasn't very busy except for groups of police officers on the search for the smugglers and their cats, so Frank and Marvin faced little obstruction due to busy traffic. However, the police officers patrolling Rio were about to be alerted that there was a group of smugglers on their way to the airport and Frank was certain that this disguise would not last long. Soon, the smugglers had finally arrived at the airport. Frank and Marvin drove their trucks down the clearing of the airport until they reached the hangar where planes were stored. As soon as Frank and Marvin had pulled their trucks alongside the hangar, they, along with the others and the cats, immediately got out of the trucks. Frank, Marvin, Jack, Jill, Vera and Luke quickly took off their builders' disguises and discarded them.

"Right, you lot unload the trucks while I get a plane," said Frank and with that, he left, leaving the other smugglers and their cats to uncover the cloaks covering the caged birds and the cats entrusted with keeping an eye on them and began to unload the caged birds from the trailers. While they did that, Frank got into a sky van; a type of plane designed for carrying cargo, turned it on, and then began to drive it out of the hangar. He continued doing this until he finally had the sky van positioned with its back end facing the trucks while at the same time positioned it for takeoff. As soon as he had parked the sky van, Frank opened the cargo bay's hatch and switched off the plane's engine and quickly got out. He then rushed over to the others to help them unload the cages.

"Hurry, you lot," he said stressfully as he picked up a cage and placed it onto the floor, "We don't have much time. Those cops could show up any moment."

Marvin, Vera and their cats obeyed and began to carry some of the cages onto the sky van. The smugglers and their cats were clearly stressed and knew they had not got much time. After placing the first few birds onto the sky van, Vera and Marvin returned to get more cages.

"Hey, Frank," said Luke, "What shall we do with the cat and the bulldog?"

Frank turned and saw Luke standing by some cats as they held the cages containing Veggie and Luiz.

"Put them on the plane for now," replied Frank, "We'll dispose of them by dropping them out of the plane while we fly over the ocean."

Luke nodded and told the cats to carry out the order. The cats nodded and carried Luiz and Veggie away and onto the plane. As the cats placed the tabby cat and bulldog amongst the caged birds and left, Luiz began to despair.

"Oh, what are we gonna do?" wailed the bulldog, "We're done for!"

Veggie, however, did not allow despair to consume him and had begun to work on the padlock locking him into his cage. Like some of the birds' cages, his cage had been padlocked as well.

"Don't despair, Luiz," said Veggie as he fiddled with the padlock with his claw, "It's not too late. I'm still gonna get out of here and rescue those birds..."

Suddenly, he immediately withdrew his front paws into the cage as some cats ran in and sat down to keep an eye on the birds as well as Veggie and Luiz and make sure that they did not do anything suspicious.

"Oh, great," muttered Veggie. Outside, Frank and the others continued unloading the trucks. They had parked the trucks in a well-lit area of the airport and the lights from the hangar provided enough light for the humans and cats to see what they were doing. However, those lights would no longer be needed as the sun was due to rise soon. While Frank and the others continued unloading the trucks and piling the caged birds ready to load onto the plane, Rafael, who was stuck with Ruby, Ceres and Esmeralda, looked down in despair.

"Sorry, Eva, kids," he murmured, "I won't be home for dinner tonight, if at all."

Esmeralda looked around, eyes wary at the cats as they continued taking cages away to load onto the plane. She was especially concerned for Ceres since Brutus had promised that she would be punished for biting Luke. What did he mean? A million thoughts rushed through Esmeralda's head and she flinched as one such thought involving Brutus giving Ceres that punishment passed through her mind. Sighing, Esmeralda looked at the padlock holding her, Ceres, Ruby and Rafael in their cage.

"We've got to get out of here," she murmured, "But we can't due to that thing on the door."

"What do you expect?" asked Ruby with a frown, "Our cage's padlocked."

"But we've got to get out of here somehow," replied Esmeralda, "Ceres here could be in mortal danger for biting one of the owners."

Ceres, at this, shot Esmeralda a glare.

"I did it to show those smugglers what happens if they mess with parrots," she said angrily, "Besides that, an African grey parrot owned by a friend of Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake's back in London told me that it was the best method of defence."

"Yeah, but now you've put yourself in potentially grave danger," said Esmeralda, "Frank could even have Brutus attack you..."

Ceres, at this, flinched as this possibility sent shivers down her spine. Brutus's temper? It was even worse than being shouted at by a human. As Ceres quivered, Marvin placed Blu and his family beside them while some cats placed Jupiter, Mercury, Sapphire and Orquidea's cage on the opposite side and left to get another cage. Mercury was quivering.

"I'm having flashbacks of myself in a cage surrounded by cats again," he murmured.

"You could have been smuggled out of Brazil by a group of poachers assisted by cats, Mercury," said Sapphire.

"It's not just that," said Mercury, "A white feathered form might have been present as well."

"That sounds like Nigel," growled Jewel, "If it is, I wouldn't be surprised since he was an exotic bird hating monster."

Jupiter then glared at the padlock on his and the other three with him's cage.

"Have you ever dealt with padlocks on a cage before?" asked Orquidea.

"Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake would NEVER, EVER do something like this to us," muttered Jupiter, "Apart from when we had to be placed onto the cargo bay of the plane while travelling to Rio."

He then grunted and sat down.

"We've just got to get out of here," he muttered, "But despite me being able to open a cage door, I cannot undo that padlock."

"Well, that's just great," muttered Orquidea. Blu, however, was determined.

"Well, there is one thing those cats failed to realise," he said. At this, the other birds looked at him.

"And what's that?" asked Esmeralda. Blu made a cunning smile.

"That I have learned to pick padlocks," he said in a low voice. At this, smiles slowly crept in the beaks of the other macaws and Rafael when suddenly, a voice said, "Hey, you birds, stop talking!"

"Yeah, shut up, will you!?" said another. At this, the macaws and toucan turned and saw two cats shoot them irritated glares as they carried Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita's cage towards them and place them there. Then they left to pick up another cage. Blu sighed and began to examine the padlock, making sure than none of the cats were watching. In another cage, Pedro was still cradling the unconscious Nico. Near him, Uranus was examining the scratch on his left wing, which had stopped bleeding and Cobalto just looked at Nico as he lay limply in Pedro's wings.

"Oh, Nico, I'm so sorry," murmured the cardinal when suddenly; his canary friend's eyes flickered open.

"Pedro?" he groaned. Pedro felt a surge of relief flare within him.

"Nico, pal," he said, "Oh, you're alright..."

Nico then stood up on his feet and raised his wing to his head wearily.

"Oh, what happened?" he groaned.

"You were whacked by Brutus after you attacked him with your bottle cap hat," said Cobalto and with that, he produced the same bottle cap he had managed to grab before being caged. Nico took it and placed it onto his head.

"Uranus here subsequently got scratched," said Pedro. Uranus sighed and winced from his painfully scratched wing.

"Jupiter wasn't kidding when he said how vicious Brutus was," he murmured timidly, "That cat only flashed his aggression as he scratched me..."

"I actually thought he was going to kill you," said Cobalto. He then sighed and looked around at the other caged birds, all in despair and hopelessness.

"I wonder if that is how those poor birds are kept in line with Brutus around," he said, "under the threat of him losing his temper."

Suddenly, Cobalto said, "Ultramarine, Neptune!"

At this, Uranus, Nico and Pedro turned to see the two hyacinth macaws, once again stuffed into cages too small for them, be brought in and placed by some cats near them. Ultramarine was in intense discomfort while Neptune bore a furious look on his face.

"When I get out of here," he growled in a low voice, "I'm gonna do what Ceres did to those humans: bite them with my beak. This is the last feather I'm gonna put up with being treated like this!"

"You'd inflict quite some injurious bites on them if you do," said Cobalto.

"Well, maybe some broken bones will teach those uncaring humans a downright good lesson about the consequences of abusing animals especially parrots, Cobalto," said Neptune, "Our owners Susan and Lucy, Blake, Jake and Jake have read us the story of _Black Beauty_ back in London once and if any human in those days were caught abusing an animal, they got seriously done for animal cruelty."

" _Black Beauty_?" repeated Cobalto confused.

"Wha's _Black Beauty?"_ asked Pedro. Uranus turned to them and said, "It's about the life of an all-black horse and how he is treated by different owners. He faced both kind owners and cruel ones. I ought to get a book on that brilliant story some time when I have chicks because I would love to read that story to them."

"I think it would be a great tool to teach chicks about how some humans can be kind to animals while some can be cruel," said Cobalto, "When I heard what Ruby had been through, I was horrified."

He suddenly shut his beak as Marvin placed Saturn next to Neptune before leaving to get another cage while some cats placed Zephyr, Brisa and Venus nearby next to Blu and his family.

"Forget about that for now, Cobalto," muttered Saturn, "We've got to get out of these cages."

Cobalto and the others just looked at him. Back with Blu and company, Blu and Jewel continued looking at Zephyr as he looked back at them with still-sorrowful eyes. Esmeralda, Jupiter, Pluto and the others also looked at him.

"Blu, Jewel, I'm sorry about what I said to you the other day," he murmured, "It was wrong for me to denounce Blu as inferior because he's a pet..."

"Animal companion," snapped Blu with a frown.

"Well, whichever applies, it was still wrong of me to be so rude to him," said Zephyr. He then turned to Jewel and said, "And it was also wrong of me to dictate on who should be your mate as well. I guess it was just influence by the beliefs of our tribe that all humans were evil and that macaws raised by them were no better..."

"Look, apology accepted," said Jewel, "You were just expressing your opinions about humans but I still did think you went a bit too far with telling me who should be my mate and whatnot..."

"Well, at least you've found a loving male to be your mate despite his domesticated background," said Brisa with a smile. Blu smiled in approval of this remark. Tiago then attempted to speak.

"Mom, Dad, Are we..." he began.

"Shh, don't interrupt," said Jewel. Tiago obeyed and stopped talking. Zephyr then turned to Venus and said, "And I owe you an apology as well, Venus. You were right about me. I was being very selfish, bigoted and condescending especially towards macaws that are owned by humans."

"Look, apology accepted here as well," said Venus, "But I think we should focus on the most important thing and that is getting out of here and getting these smugglers caught..."

"Well said, Venus," said Blu as he continued examining the padlock holding him and his family in their cage, "And I just have a trick in my talon..."

At this, Venus, Zephyr and Brisa made hopeful smiles. Nearby, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, Sunset, Mars and Chiquitita also made hopeful smiles.

"Well, I couldn't agree more with Venus," said Sunset, "It's time we broke out of these cages before those smugglers smuggle us out of Brazil..."

Suddenly, the group closed their beaks and Blu stopped working on the padlock as some cats led by Brutus came by to examine them. Carla, Bia and Tiago quivered timidly in Jewel's wings. Venus felt sorry for these chicks as they reminded her how she and Mercury were possibly smuggled out of Brazil as well.

"Not long now until we leave this country, you lot," said Brutus with an evil look on his face, "Enjoy what time you have left here 'cos once we're out of here, you will not see it again."

Blu just glared back at the sadistic cat as if to say, 'We'll see about that, pal!'

Brutus then made an 'Hmm, hmm, hmm' type snigger when Frank called him for help. Brutus obeyed and leaped away. The cats accompanying him also left. Blu looked through the bars of the cage and saw that Frank and his accomplices and cats had managed to completely unload both trucks with all the caged birds on the floor and were now about to load them onto the plane. Seeing that they were running out of time, Blu quickly returned to picking the padlock with his talon. Back on the plane, Veggie saw that the cats on watch were distracted as their owners and other cats came in with some cages. Veggie then began to check the distances between himself and the nearest cage containing birds. When he saw how close to the nearest cage containing parakeets was to his own and that they were within reach of his paws, an idea entered his head. Luiz watched Veggie as he raised his head slightly with the idea.

"What is it, Veg?" asked the bulldog. Veggie turned to him and began to whisper his idea.

"Luiz, can you open cage doors that are of the flip slide bolt lock type?" he asked in a low voice.

"Flip slide bolt?" repeated Luiz confused. Veggie pointed to the lock on Luiz's cage.

"That type of lock," he said, "The 'L' piece slides in and out of the cylinder."

"Oh, I get it," said Luiz.

"What you have to do is simply slide that L-shaped piece out of the cylinder to unlock..." said Veggie when suddenly; he was cut off by a voice.

"Hey, shut up, you menace!" it snarled.

"Yeah, shut your mouth or I'll get Brutus to shut it for you!" growled another voice. Veggie turned and saw two cats shoot him an irritated glare each as they helped some more cats load a cage containing some conures onto the plane. As the group of cats left, Veggie turned back to Luiz.

"Okay, I get how you unlock the cage," said Luiz. Veggie smiled slyly.

"Then get to it," he said, "You'll need that skill to help rescue these birds."

"Okay," said Luiz and with that, he left to undo the lock on his cage to free himself. Turning to the parakeets within range, Veggie began to tell the parakeets what to do as soon as he had released them...

Back outside, Frank, Vera, Marvin and the cats continued carrying more caged birds onto the plane. As they did that, Jack and Jill looked on and then turned to Jupiter, Blu and the other main characters. Going over to them and making sure that Frank or any of the cats weren't looking, Jack went over to the group, his eyes on the hyacinth macaws stuffed horribly into the small cages while Jill had her eyes on Blu and his family and Zephyr, Venus and Brisa.

"We're gonna get you birds out of there," said Jack and with that, he went over to Neptune's cage but before he could even place his hands onto the cage door to open it, Brutus jumped in and screeched loudly right into Jack's face, at the same time lashing his claws at his arm, almost scratching him. Jack jumped back in shock as Brutus then lunged at Jill and slashed at her face to drive her away from the Spix macaws' cages, making Jill shriek and jump back, Brutus's claws missing her face by centimetres. Then two hands appeared and latched onto Jack and Jill's shoulders and dragged them away.

"What do you two think you're doing!?" growled the hands' owner, Frank.

"Oh, we were... um..." stammered Jack as he struggled to choose a suitable set of words.

"Well if you were even thinking about releasing those birds, you both," growled Frank angrily, "You've got another thing comin'. Our cats have worked EVER SO HARD to catch and cage those twelve valuable birds and the last thing we want is them escapin'. They're worth a lot of money, you know."

Jack and Jill, at this, looked back at Blu, Jupiter and their group as they put their talons on their cages and gazed at the twin brother and sister with desperate eyes. Blu, however, continued working on the padlock locking him, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago into their cage. Jack and Jill finally snapped. Having had enough of Frank and his group's cruel treatment of animals and of criminal work, Jack shot Frank a glare, raised a foot and stomped as hard as he could onto one of Frank's feet. Frank yelped in pain and grasped his foot, releasing Jack and Jill who then dashed off like the wind. After saying a few swearwords and putting his foot down, Frank turned and saw the twins as they ran off into the darkness. Brutus also saw them leave and rolled his eyes and Luke ran in.

"Are you alright, Frank?" he asked, "Where are Jack and Jill?"

"Look, forget those brats, Luke," snapped Frank, "And help us with the loading of the other caged birds onto the plane. It's Jack and Jill's loss, not ours."

Luke at first hesitated before returning to the task despite his bandaged arm.

"Are we still gonna punish that blue-throated macaw for biting me though?" he asked Frank as he prepared to pick up a cage. Ceres, who was stuck in the cage with Esmeralda, Ruby and Rafael, quivered while Catina, who stood nearby Luke's ankles, looked up. Frank made an unsympathetic face.

"We'll have Brutus kill that bird," he said, "We're not gonna have vicious birds sold through the market, especially if they bite people. Once we have got the other birds onto the plane, we'll remove that macaw and have Brutus attack and kill it but at the moment, continue with the task."

This made intense fear jolt within Ceres like a lightning bolt while the others were horrified. Quivering, the female blue-throated macaw hid behind Esmeralda while she glared at Frank.

"NO!" cried Ruby. Blu also heard the plan and continued working away at the padlock.

"Hurry, Blu," said Jewel in a low voice. Blu continued fiddling with the padlock. Nearby Luke's legs, Catina's eyes flashed with horror. Then that horror was replaced with a scowl as she, like Jack and Jill had also reached the end of the line with this criminal business. Enraged, Catina shot the macaws containing Blu, Jupiter and company and the padlocks holding them in, and left for one of the truck's driving section for the keys to the padlocks. Her defection to the birds' side was finally boiling. Brutus, however, wore a sadistic and evil smile. He looked forward to killing Ceres for biting Luke. With that in his head, he continued helping the other cats and their owners to load the plane with more caged birds. However, he and the others did not realise that Blu had finally unlocked the padlock. As soon as he had done so, he opened the cage door and he, Jewel and the chicks immediately escaped.

"Right, Jewel, you free as many of the other birds as possible and round them up," he told Jewel, "I'll try and free the rest of those in the padlocked cages. Also, make sure that those cats don't see you."

"Okay, got it," said Jewel and with that, she told Carla, Bia and Tiago to come with her as she flew off to the nearest non-padlocked cage to free some honeycreepers. Blu had taught Jewel to operate the flip slide bolt lock and this skill proved valuable as Jewel easily unlocked the cage and freed the honeycreepers. Blu then went over to Zephyr, Brisa and Venus's cage and began to fiddle with the padlock when suddenly, Zephyr cried, "Blu, behind you!"

At this, Blu turned round and saw a white cat with black and orange blotches approach the group with a ring of metallic things in her paws. At this, he became defensive and spread his wings out.

"You come any close, cat and I'll tear your hair out," snarled Blu but the calico kept her cool.

"Allow me to free those birds, blue macaw," she said. At this, Blu's eyes turned from defensive to surprise. Seeing that there was not much time, Blu stepped aside as Catina then walked towards the cage holding Zephyr, Brisa and Venus with the keys, inserted one of the keys into the padlock and turned it. She then unlocked the padlock and removed it from the cage door, before undoing the simple lock and opening the cage door itself. Zephyr, Brisa and Venus and the others were surprised.

"Don't just stand there, blue macaws, get out of here and help free the other birds if you know how to undo cages," said Catina. Then without hesitation, Zephyr, Brisa and Venus left the cage and Catina went over to Neptune's cage to free him.

"Brutus is gonna skin her alive if he ever catches her doing that," said Venus in a low voice.

"Don't worry about her, Venus," said Zephyr, "Just focus on helping Jewel to free the other birds."

Venus did so and she, Zephyr and Brisa scattered to free some of the caged birds. As they did that, chaos suddenly erupted from within the plane accompanied by bird squawks and human shouts of pain, startling Blu, Jupiter and company and making them turn in the direction of the plane. Frank, Vera, Marvin and Luke were swarmed by a cloud of colourful feathers. When Jupiter looked harder at the feathered forms, he released that they were macaws, parakeets and some other birds. Brutus and the other cats, taken by surprise by the unexpected attack from the birds as they attacked their owners, rushed in to try and catch the birds only to be attacked by more birds flying in from within the plane. Inside the plane, Veggie had managed to free himself from his padlocked cage and he and Luiz were freeing more and more birds who then joined in the attack on Frank, Luke, Marvin and Vera. With the smugglers and their cats occupied, Catina continued freeing the other padlocked birds with the padlock key while the already freed continued freeing the other birds from their cages.

"Hurry, those cats might notice us any moment," said Blu as he unlocked a cage containing some parakeets. Nearby, Nico and Pedro released some toucans while Rafael, Cobalto and Esmeralda set free more birds. Catina continued rescuing more of the birds padlocked in their cages until she finally reached the last one containing Saturn. As she turned the key in the padlock, unlocked it and then remove the padlock, she quickly unlocked the cage door's lock and opened it. Saturn immediately ran out. The moment he did this, Frank, Luke, Vera and Marvin were then knocked out by the group of attacking birds and they fell over like skittles, out cold and covered in scratches and other injuries. The birds freed from the plane then flew over to their friends as they were being released from their cages by Blu, Jewel, Jupiter and the others. Veggie and Luiz also joined the group after leaving the plane past the confused cats. As the cats began to sort themselves out from the chaos caused by the freed birds from the plane, they immediately turned their attention to the other birds that were yet to be packed onto the plane but to their horror, those birds have escaped! Brutus was even more horrified to see that Blu, Jewel, their chicks, Zephyr, Brisa and Venus were out of their cages! At this, he was filled with fury and he and his cats began to approach the crowd of birds as more and more continued being freed from their cages. Catina gasped when she saw Brutus and the other cats approach them and quickly hid. She will show her change of allegiance later. Then within a few more seconds, the last of the birds were freed. After this, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (who was glad to be out of that cramped cage), Pluto, Veggie and Sunset all did a group hug. Nearby, Blu, Jewel, their chicks, Zephyr, Brisa, Ruby, Chiquitita, Esmeralda, Saturn, Lapis Lazuli, Cobalto, Ultramarine, Rafael, Nico and Pedro also did a group hug, relieved to be free again while Luiz also gave Nico, Pedro, Rafael, Blu and Jewel a hug with his front paws. Some of his drool dripped onto them but they didn't mind. They were just glad to be free again. Sunset then began to ask Veggie some questions.

"Where are Dash, Ginger and Travis?" she asked.

"Dash and Ginger have taken Travis to find a person, Sunset," replied Veggie, "Hopefully, Travis will have been taken to Tulio's Aviary for treatment while Dash and Ginger will have found the police."

"Well, I hope the police will have been alerted by now," said Jupiter, "as well as on their way here to the airport."

"They should be, I'm sure of it," said Saturn, "But at least we're all free and ready to return to Tulio and his group and safety again."

The group then continued their reunion hug while birds around them also hugged their families and friends. However, the moment of reunion was shattered when the large group heard an enraged screech.

"How said you birds escape your cages!?" it shouted. At this, Blu, Jupiter and company, and all the other birds broke their hugs and turned to face Brutus standing in front of a crowd of his accomplices as they glared at them with faces filled with shock and rage.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27- cats vs birds round 2, and the wrath of Brutus**

The crowd of birds with Veggie and Luiz found themselves confronted by Brutus and his crowd of cats as they glared at them in utter shock. Brutus was especially surprised but at the same time he was enraged. At this, Blu, Jupiter and the others positioned themselves to face the cats. Veggie had his fur puffed out and Luiz had a sly grin on his face dripping with drool. Nearby, Sunset's red, yellow and pinkish white crest was fully raised. Brutus then glared at Blu and said, "How have you managed to escape your cages!?"

"I thought we padlocked them so that you couldn't get out since we know that some of you know how to open cage doors," added Paws near Brutus. Blu, with a sly smile on his face, raised a talon.

"I don't think you careless cats realised that not only am I able to open cages by unlocking them but that I am also able to pick locks," he said mockingly, "You've made one slip up, kitties."

"But how did you manage to escape those padlocked cages so quickly?" asked Moggy. At this, Catina peered from behind one of the parked trucks and glared at Brutus and his group with angry eyes. Then Brutus cut Moggy off and became cross.

"Well, it doesn't matter how you lot have escaped," he growled, "We don't have time for this palaver or dillydally. Those cops are gonna arrive on the airport any moment. Now DO US A FAVOUR and return to your cages THIS MINUTE, OR FACE MY FURY!"

The birds, Veggie and Luiz, however, refused to budge.

"And then what," asked Jewel angrily and in disgust, "Have you and your owners smuggle us out against our will to be sold like we're some sort of objects? I don't think so."

Then she glared at Brutus and snarled, "And you, cat, disgust me!"

And with that, she spat onto the floor right in front of Brutus. Most of the birds laughed as Brutus made a shocked expression at the insult.

"Yeah, you don't half make us nauseated, cat," growled Pedro, "Especially after what you did to my best friend Nico."

"Yeah," growled Nico, "You're one of the most degusting cats we have ever met."

Blu, Carla, Bia and Tiago then blew a raspberry together at Brutus while some of the other birds, including Rafael, Ruby, Chiquitita, Esmeralda, Orquidea, Ultramarine, Cobalto, Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli, Zephyr and Brisa, jeered at the grey cat. Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, Sunset and Veggie, however just maintained disgusted glares. Brutus began to boil with anger as he began to lose patience. The other cats also began to lose patience.

"Look, you birds," shouted Brutus, "Either you return to your cages or I'LL LOSE MY TEMPER, AND YOU WON'T LIKE ME WHEN I DO!"

"Yeah," growled Paws.

"Go back to your cages or we'll do it for you," snarled Otis. The other cats also protested the same thing. But none of the birds budged.

"Oh, YEAH!?" growled Blu, "We will not comply without a FIGHT!"

As he said this, Pluto raised his head in shock.

"Another fight?" he murmured timidly. Brutus then puffed his fur out.

"IF YA WANNA FIGHT AND RISK FACING SERIOUS INJURY OR EVEN DEATH," he screeched at the top of his voice, "THEN SO BE IT!"

"Bring it on!" shouted Nico and Pedro together. Then everything went quiet as both the bird (with Veggie and Luiz) and cat crowd began to face off once again. Bird glared with each cat and vice versa as the tension escalated exponentially. Pluto, at this, looked around and began to panic.

"Not again," he muttered when suddenly, Pedro's voice screeched out, "BIRDS VERSUS CATS ROUND TWOOOOOO!"

"GET THEEEEM!" cried Brutus and with that, everything broke loose like floodwater bursting through a dam as both birds and cats leaped at each other, resulting in a fight breaking out. Like before, birds were attacking cats and using their beaks and talons full force while cats swiped their paws at birds. Some parakeets, toucans, small birds and macaws, among them Rafael, Nico and Pedro, found themselves under attack from a bunch of cats. However they fought back full force. Rafael swung his beak to knock down some cats while Nico and Pedro used their agility to confuse more cats and make them dizzy. Around them, the other birds were either throttling more cats or cats were attempting to swipe their paws at some of the birds only to miss. As this group fought, a white and brown bulk of muscle and fur with drool dripping from its mouth rushed in and charged straight through the cat crowd like a bull, laughing maniacally. Cats were flung into the air or to the sides as Luiz dashed through them. The bulldog then exploded out from the other side, laughing out loud.

"Hah, ha, ha, this is fun!" he cackled and began to head butt and kick his back legs at some more cats, his drool flying everywhere and hitting more cats in the face, much to their revulsion.

"Nice move, Luiz," cried Rafael as he throttled another cat. Luiz smiled but then a cat jumped onto his back and tried to strangle him. Luiz barked and tried thrashing his head this way and that to dislodge the cat but the cat hung on. When Nico saw this, he gasped, flew into the air, removed his bottle cap hat and tossed it like a Frisbee. The bottle cap flew towards the cat on Luiz's back and bopped it square on the nose. Stunned, the cat was flung off by Luiz as he thrashed his head in one direction. Nico then caught his bottle cap hat and placed it on his head again.

"Hah, ha, take that, you funky feline," he laughed smugly.

"Thanks, my canary friend," said Luiz.

"Okay, no problem," said Nico and with that, he flew back into the chaos to help Pedro fend off more cats.

While Rafael, Nico and Pedro fought this group of cats with the other birds with them, Carla, Bia and Tiago were being chased by four more cats, two of them being Hopper and Adriana. The three chicks led the four cats past Rafael's group and into the plane's cargo bay. As soon as they were in there, Carla, Bia and Tiago scattered and hid amongst the fallen piles of cages, now empty. As the three blue macaw chicks disappeared amongst the cages, Adriana, Hopper and the other two cats stopped and began to look around for the chicks. As they had their backs turned to one pile of cages, Tiago, with a mischievous grin on his face, sneaked out from that pile of cages, towards Hopper's tail and bit it. Hopper yelped in pain and Tiago immediately dived back amongst the fallen cages before Adriana and the other two cats could see him. Then Bia took her turn and flew out from another pile of cages behind the four cats and kicked Adriana's left back leg as hard as she could. Adriana gasped as her back leg was shifted off the floor and she lost her balance. As she fell over, Hopper and the other two cats turned but Bia had already gone. Then Carla appeared and approached one of the two unnamed cats. As soon as she was close to them. She let loose a high pitched squawk, making the four cats jump into the air. Carla then disappeared amongst the cages before the four cats could see her. As the cats looked around, Carla, Bia and Tiago appeared together within their range of view and laughed mockingly at them. Hopper, at this, made an enraged face.

"C'mere you three little BRATS!" he snarled and with that, he leaped at them but the three chicks disappeared before Hopper could grab them. Hopper then found himself wedged in the spot where the chicks were. Then Carla, Bia and Tiago began to toy with Adriana by appearing in one spot amongst the fallen cages and then disappearing and reappearing in another spot before Adriana could grab them. Soon Adriana found herself playing an equivalent to a 'Whac-a-Mole' game with the three chicks as every time she swiped a paw at Carla, Bia or Tiago in an attempt to grab them, they would immediately disappear amongst the empty cages and pop out somewhere else. At one point, Tiago bit the tip of Adriana's tail and tore out some fur, making Adriana yelp in pain before turning to where Tiago was only to find him missing. While Adriana continued this Whac-a-Mole mania with Carla, Bia and Tiago, Hopper managed to dislodge himself from another spot of the cages and help Adriana. However, Carla, Bia and Tiago had come out of hiding and had begun to fly around Hopper, Adriana and the other two unnamed cats. The four cats tried in helpless vain to catch the three comets but their paws only struck thin air. Carla, Bia and Tiago continued flying around the cats, either flying under their bodies through their legs, close to their faces or past another part of their body. Soon, Hopper, Adriana and the two unnamed cats were tangling themselves around each other but they didn't realise it until one of the unnamed cats said, "Er... guys, I think we're..."

Adriana, Hopper and the other cat only had time to realise it before the four fell into a heap on the floor, a knotted and tangled mess with their legs wrapped around d each other's legs or bodies. Carla, Bia and Tiago then scored the last laugh by flying close to Hopper's face, each slapping him. The four cats were then left lying in a heap.

"Let me guess then," said Adriana quite dazed and dizzy from the 'Whac-a-Mole' confusion, "There were three dozen of them rather than three."

At this, Hopper and the other two cats shot her a glare.

Back outside, more cats were chasing more birds until some of them managed to grab some of the parakeets and toucanets and pin them down on the floor. Suddenly, a blue-and-gold macaw jumped up behind the cats and landed on their backs. Saturn then began to knock each of the cats out one or two at a time. He banged two of the cats' heads together by slapping his wings one into one cat's left side and the other into the cat's right side and pushing them together hard. The two cats, stunned, fell in a heap. Saturn then attacked another in the face and head-butted another to knock those cats out. As each cat fell down, the trapped toucanets and parakeets were free. Nearby, Neptune was swinging his enormous wings and knocking down more cats. Some cats were even sent flying backwards due to the force of the wing swipes.

"Take THIS you pesky felines," shouted Neptune and then he jumped up and spun an outstretched talon at more cats, kicking each one in the face and knocking them down as well. Nearby Neptune, Veggie and Ultramarine were also swiping their paws and wings respectively to knock down more cats. One cat charged at Ultramarine but she ducked down, making the cat trip over her body and go bowling into some of the cats attempting to attack Neptune while Veggie stuck out a back leg to trip up more cats as they chased a few macaws nearby. Suddenly, a cat jumped onto Ultramarine's back and attempted to claw her but Veggie leaped in and swiped the cat across the face, knocking it off of Ultramarine. The cat, stunned fell onto its back. Ultramarine gave Veggie a thankful nod before leaping away to attack more cats. Elsewhere, More cats were chasing more macaws, among them Chiquitita, Ruby and Brisa. As the group ran ahead of the cats, a blue and blue-white comet flew in and charged straight into the crowd of cats. Zephyr ploughed straight through the pursuing casts and sent them flying everywhere. Then Zephyr turned round and landed another areal strike on them, knocking them down again.

"Take TWO!" he shouted as he did it. Chiquitita, Brisa and Ruby then jumped onto some more cats and began to attack them.

Nearby, Esmeralda, Uranus, Ceres and Cobalto were working together to knock down more cats. Esmeralda was swinging her talons and her wings and hitting more cats in the faces.

"Huh, you have absolutely NO chance against a flock of birds who work together that defends themselves, you pests!" snarled Esmeralda and with that, she body-slammed another cat and flattened it. Nearby, Cobalto, while being careful of his sprained wing, jumped on another cat and also flattened it while Ceres and Uranus clawed and even bit more cats before knocking them down. Then one cat attempted to leap at Uranus but he dodged, sending the cat crashing into a muscular vermillion torso. The cat, stunned, fell in a heap before Jupiter who looked down with slight surprise. Uranus looked on apologetically but Jupiter just shrugged it off. Jupiter then ran off to help Mercury and Sapphire as they continued fending off more cats. While Mercury wrestled with the all-black cat, he asked, "Hey, where's Pluto? Shouldn't he be helping?"

"Don't tell me he's ran off into hiding again, has he?" muttered Sapphire as she wrestled with the white Persian. Suddenly the Persian cat grabbed Sapphire by the neck and began to throttle her when suddenly; he felt searing pain shoot in from his tail. The cat leaped into the air and released Sapphire, howling in pain. Jupiter had bit the cat's tail to make him release Sapphire. Sapphire gave Jupiter a thumbs-up to the vermillion scarlet macaw and left to help Mercury while Jupiter prepared to defend the two Lear's macaws from more attacking cats. However, regarding Pluto, the male glaucous macaw had not gone far. He was simply looking on fear and fright at the inferno, too afraid to get involved. Nearby, Venus, Mars and Orquidea were being pursued by more cats, five of them, amongst them Jackie, when they looked up ahead and saw that Sunset and Veggie had one of the cages prepared and open.

"A cage, you two!?" asked Venus incredulously.

"Just run towards it and then dodge," cried Sunset. Venus, Orquidea and Mars obeyed and continued running towards the open cage. As soon as they were within inches of the open cage door, the female blue-and-gold, male green-winged and the female pigtailed Spix macaws scattered. Their five pursuers including Jackie, however, did not have time to react and before they knew it, they ran straight into the cage held by Sunset and Veggie! As soon as the five cats were in, Veggie slammed the door shut and Sunset attached one of the padlocks to it. Jackie and the other four cats, upon realising that they have been tricked, began screeching and shouting at the tabby cat and Major Mitchell's cockatoo as they were joined by Orquidea, Venus and Mars to be let out. However Sunset and Veggie turned a deaf ear to the enraged cats' shouts.

"Hah, talk about giving those furballs a taste of their own medicine," laughed Orquidea smugly at the five cats in the cage.

"That's five of those smugglers' cats out of the way," said Veggie and with that, he leaped into another part of the inferno to help some more birds while Sunset, Venus, Mars and Orquidea left to help Rafael fend off more cats. Nearby the plane, Blu, Jewel and Lapis Lazuli had managed to outwit more cats by sending them colliding into more cats chasing Luiz, resulting in an explosion of cats much to the amusement of the two blue macaws and female glaucous. Luiz smiled at them and continued running into another part of the fight to help more birds.

"Good teamwork, Lapis and Jewel," said Blu with a high-five with Lapis Lazuli and Jewel.

"Yeah, you did a good job," said Lapis Lazuli. Her face then fell as she noticed that Pluto was missing.

"Speaking of that, where's Pluto?" she asked. Just then, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres turned up with Ruby, Sapphire, Zephyr, Brisa, Chiquitita, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine and Cobalto, and Sunset. The group was covered in a few grazes and cuts as well as torn out feathers, and they were out of breath.

"Boy, that fight sure is demanding," said Cobalto before entering another phase of heavy breathing.

"Yeah, those cats... sure mean a lot... of business," said Ruby between breaths, "But there's... no way we're gonna... allow those pests to smuggle... us out and sell us..."

Zephyr then turned round and saw Carla, Bia and Tiago as they caused chaos for more cats by tying them up with some sort of string.

"Looks like Rafael's kids have taught those three one good thing," he said, "How to outsmart pesky cats. That'll be the only good thing I'll say about Rafael's kids."

"They do need disciplining still," said Brisa. Jupiter then smiled at the group and said, "Well, you lot, you are doing really well, especially in teamwork, even though some of you have had a bitter enmity towards each other."

Ruby, at this, looked at Zephyr, Brisa and Jewel and said, "We don't anymore now. We've become friends."

Esmeralda and Sapphire also showed this by putting their wings around each other.

"I think this adventure's taught us a lot," said Sapphire, "Especially when we have to collaborate to defend ourselves from those cats and their owners."

"You lot have done well to put aside your enmity or even dissolve it altogether," said Jupiter proudly, "I'm proud of you."

Esmeralda, Sapphire, Ruby, Chiquitita, Zephyr, Brisa and Jewel laughed at this. However, this sense of achievement was explosively shattered by an extremely enraged cat screech. Ruby, at this, gasped while Esmeralda, Sapphire, Jewel, Blu and some of the others screamed in horror as something leaped at Jupiter from behind. Jupiter turned round but before he could react, he was pounced upon and pinned down against the floor by an extremely angry grey cat. His eyes were flaring like violent volcanoes and his fur was puffed out.

"WELL YOU LOT AREN'T GONNA DO WELL AGAINST ME, YOU WRETCHED BIRDS!" Brutus screeched at the top of his voice, "I DID WARN YOU THAT IF YOU DARE PROVOKE ME, YOU'D FACE MY FURY!"

And with that, he pressed a paw hard onto Jupiter's throat and completely cut off his breathing. Jupiter then began to struggle to breathe. Pluto ran in from a distance and cried in horror when he saw Brutus pin Jupiter down. Ruby, at this, felt hot rage burn within her. Then before anyone could stop her, she leaped at Brutus.

"Ruby, NO!" cried Jewel but Ruby had already landed onto Brutus's back and began to try and claw him.

"YOU LET THAT SCARLET MACAW GO, YOU VICIOUS BRUTE!" she screeched and began to try and rake her claws down Brutus's back but the savage cat turned round and grabbed Ruby by the neck with a paw.

"YOU GET YOURSELF OFF OF ME, YOU RED FEATHERED BRAT!" screeched Brutus before flinging Ruby hard towards the plane. Ruby crashed hard against the plane and slumped down. As Blu, Jewel and some of the others ran over to her, Ruby felt excruciating pain shoot from the shoulder of her left wing. At this, she yelped in pain.

"RUBY," cried Jewel.

"Are you alright?" asked Zephyr. Ruby then grasped her left wing.

"My wing," she cried, "I-I think it's dislocated!"

As she said this, dread hit the group. Brutus, however, thought it was hilarious so he burst out laughing.

"Oops a daisy," he crooned sarcastically, "I must have accidentally hurt that scarlet macaw. Well, it serves you right for trying to attack me, brat!"

And with that, he burst out laughing. Jupiter, at this, felt hot rage burn within him. Then like a lightning bolt, he lifted his talons and raked them down Brutus's stomach. Brutus screeched in agony and jumped off of Jupiter. The vermillion scarlet macaw then got up, his brown eyes filled with storm clouds like those on his namesake planet. Then Zephyr leapt in to attack Brutus.

"Zephyr, DON'T," cried Chiquitita but Zephyr did not listen and ploughed straight into Brutus.

"I'm GONNA SKIN YA ALIVE FOR WHAT YOU DID TO RUBY," shouted the male Spix macaw but Brutus grabbed him by the neck with his front paws.

"THEN I'LL DO THE SAME TO YOU AS I DID TO HER!" screeched the grey cat and with that, he threw Zephyr at the plane with all his might. Chiquitita jumped up to try and cushion Zephyr's impact on the plane but Brutus had thrown Zephyr so hard and so high that she could not reach him. A sickening crack was heard in Zephyr's right wing as he smashed into the plane's side. Zephyr then howled in pain as he slumped down onto the floor. As he lifted his right wing, he let loose a pain of agony.

"MY RIGHT WING!" he cried and grasped it. Brutus laughed out loud at this and then resumed his fury.

"NOW YOU LOT HAVE TO THE COUNT OF THREE TO RETURN TO YOUR CAGES," screeched the cat, "BEFORE I LOSE ALL THOUGHT AND ATTACK YOU RESULTING IN A GRUESOME SCENE! One..."

The group, at this, scrambled to get out of the way. Blu flew off with Chiquitita in his talons while Jewel, Esmeralda and Sapphire picked up Zephyr while Saturn and Brisa picked up Ruby. Both macaws were in utter agony and holding their wings.

"Take those two casualties away, QUICK!" shouted Jupiter.

"Two," said Brutus. Jupiter then prepared to fight Brutus.

"Jupiter, no," cried Saturn in horror. Blu then turned round and saw what Jupiter was about to do. At this, he put Chiquitita down at a safe distance and flew away.

"Just get out of here," said Jupiter.

"THREE!" screeched Brutus and when he saw that Jupiter was refusing to comply, he finally exploded like Krakatoa.

"RIGHT, THAT'S IT!" he screeched and with that, he leaped at the vermillion scarlet macaw with an ear-piercing screech, his claws fully extended and mouth wide open. Jupiter, at this, covered his face protectively with his wings but before Brutus could sink his claws or teeth into the scarlet macaw, he was stopped dead inches from Jupiter and flopped down onto his stomach. Someone had grabbed onto his tail and when Jupiter saw who it was, horror flooded within him.

"BLU!" cried Jewel, "ARE YOU MAD!? YOU'D GET YOURSELF KILLED!"

Blu, however, didn't listen to his mate's cries of warning and kept his beak clamped onto Brutus's tail and stopping him from lashing at Jupiter.

"Go, Jupiter," cried Blu, "While I still can hold this beast back!"

Jupiter, at this, ran away after the others while Blu continued holding Brutus's tail with his beak. Brutus, at this, snarled and screeched.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' HOLDING ONTO MY TAIL, YOU WRETCHED MACAW!?" screech Brutus, "LET ME GO THIS MINUTE!"

"Over my dead body, fish face," snapped Blu scornfully. Brutus, at this finally exploded into a maniacal rage and began to try and lash at Blu to get him to release his tail. However, Blu was just out of reach and soon, both grey cat and Spix macaw were locked in a vicious spin. Blu clung onto Brutus's tail while Brutus tried to reach Blu with his claws to scratch him but could not reach. The others watched in horror. Jupiter could clearly see the fire storm in Brutus's eyes as he tried to attack Blu. That was the same look he had seen when Brutus attacked him before he was forced to escape back in the smugglers' den, and when Brutus had pursued him and his group through the slums of Rio. Jewel then tried to fly in to help but Neptune grabbed her wings to stop her from endangering herself at the wrath of Brutus.

"Blu, don't you realise you're dealing with what could be the most dangerous cat in all of Rio?" cried Chiquitita. Blu didn't listen and continued holding onto Brutus's tail as hard as he could as he continued being pulled around in circles by Brutus. Brutus then finally had enough. Running towards the plane, he managed to swing Blu still holding his tail into the plane's side. Blu crashed into the plane's side with a clunk but he still refused to let go. Then with an enraged screech, Brutus raised a paw and scratched Blu's side with his claws. Blu yelled in pain and released Brutus's tail. He then grasped his side and made a pained face.

"I'm gonna claw ya to death for that, you BLUE-FEATHERED MENACE!" snarled Brutus but before he could inflict anymore scratches on Blu, he felt searing pain erupt from his back. Sunset had flown in and slashed her claws down his back. Then Venus ran in with a metal rod, her yellow eyes burning with fury.

"YOU LEAVE BLU ALONE, you FERAL MONSTER!" she screeched and with that, she began to pound Brutus over the head with the rod.

"Be careful, Venus," cried Mars. Venus continued battering Brutus with the rod until Brutus, with an extremely enraged screech, swiped away the rod with a paw and then leaped at Venus in a killing leap but found himself stopped in his tracks again. Blu had one again latched onto his tail with his beak. Despite the excruciating pain in his side, the Spix macaw was not going to give up. Jewel then flew in and clawed Brutus across the face, inflicting a scratch while Venus made her getaway.

"You're as bad as Nigel, did you know that, you savage creature?" Jewel growled but Brutus but Brutus lashed a paw at Jewel in an attempt to slash her with his claws but missed by centimetres. Jewel, at this, gasped and flew away, making Brutus chase her with Blu hanging onto his tail. Blu tried to slow Brutus down but due to the cat's rage, he found himself outmatched by Brutus's strength and was thus dragged along. Blu then fell on his backside and began to be pulled along while sitting down. However, he still kept a firm grip on the savage cat's tail. Brutus then jumped up and slashed his claws at Jewel again but missed.

"IF I HAVE TO KILL YOU REMAINING SPIX MACAWS, THEN SO BE IT!" cried Brutus and with that, he jumped up and slashed his claws at Jewel again, catching her tail and causing one of the feathers to fall and drift away.

"Jewel, FLY HIGHER!" cried Blu, his beak still latched onto Brutus's tail. Jewel did so and gained height. Ahead, Venus was running for her life and soon, Venus and Jewel, with Brutus with Blu clinging onto his tail, were right near Jupiter and the others, promting them to make a run for it the moment Venus and Jewel joined them. Pluto watched in horror and began to panic and shed tears. While Jupiter and the others dashed away from Brutus, Rafael, Nico, Pedro and Luiz got a glimpse of the volcanic look on Brutus's face.

"Good grief," cried Luiz in horror, "A cat like that should not be allowed to roam the streets of Rio."

"Look at Blu hanging onto his tail," said Nico. The four looked on as Blu continued struggling to pull Brutus back by the tail but was dragged along. Carla, Bia and Tiago also saw that their dad was hanging on to Brutus and tried to fly after him but Veggie wrapped his front paws around the three chicks and restrained them, knowing that if they flew too near Brutus, they'd risk getting themselves killed. Jupiter and his group continued running with the injured Zephyr and Ruby in their clutches, crying in horror and fright. Brutus then lashed a paw at Neptune's back, narrowly missing him by inches.

"THAT CAT'S AS BAD AS THOSE FLYING FOXES THAT ATTACKED MY TRIBE!" cried Lapis Lazuli. She finished her sentence with a scream as Brutus lashed her claws at her. Blu then felt hot rage finally reach boiling point. He pressed his talons into the tarmac and began to try and slow Brutus down. When that didn't work, Blu began to ascend upwards and lift Brutus off the ground. Brutus gasped in shock when he realised he was being pulled away from his targets, before turning his furious eyes onto Blu. Blu continued flapping upward, his beak still hanging onto Brutus's tail and Brutus beginning to lash at him with his claws. On the ground, Jupiter and the others stopped and looked up in horror as Blu continued flapping upward, carrying Brutus with him by the tail. Then when Blu was a few metres above the ground with Brutus's tail in his beak, Brutus managed to reach up and latch his teeth onto some of the flight feathers of one of Blu's wings, causing Blu to stop flapping. The moment Blu's ability to flap both wings simultaneously was cut off, both cat and Spix macaw dropped like stones back towards earth. The pair crashed onto the ground and rolled in a blur of grey, blue and black as Blu and Brutus began fighting. The group looked on in horror as they watched as feathers and fur flew everywhere accompanied by screeches of both agony and fury erupted from both the cat and Spix macaw. Blu viciously tore out Brutus's fur and scratched and bit Brutus while Brutus retaliated by lashing his claws at the Spix macaw and tore out his rich blue feathers. While the group was transfixed on the fight, some cats came in with some cages and pounced onto the group to cage them, forcing Jupiter's group to fight back. However, with Ruby and Zephyr injured, efforts were negatively affected, but one managed to escape. Lapis Lazuli had managed to make a getaway before any of the cats could grab her and she fled the newly started fighting cloud. Then after a few more minutes of vicious fighting, Brutus managed to overpower Blu and send him flying with one powerful flip of his back legs into one of the truck's sides. Blu cried as he was flung but that cry was cut off as he crashed into the truck. Then he fell to the ground, unconscious. Brutus hissed at him before turning his attention on Jupiter's group. When he saw that Jupiter and the others apart from Lapis Lazuli were occupied with fighting off the cats attempting to cage them, and seeing that Lapis Lazuli was separate from that group, Brutus let loose a screech and ran towards the female glaucous macaw. He had lost all thought now and was behaving like a feral beast. From his distance, Pluto watched the fight in horror and then saw that Brutus was heading straight for Lapis Lazuli. Lapis Lazuli then saw Pluto watching in the distance, frozen in fear when suddenly, something ploughed into her and knocked her down. Lapis Lazuli cried in extreme fright as she was suddenly faced by the savage face of Brutus. Lapis Lazuli looked this way and that as fear boiled within her but saw that all but Pluto was occupied with the other cats. Brutus then let loose a screech and slashed his claws at her, nearly scratching Lapis Lazuli's face.

"Pluto," cried Lapis Lazuli as Brutus, with his mouth wide open and dripping saliva, began to inch towards her. Pluto watched on, frozen in fear. Brutus then raised a paw and slashed at Lapis Lazuli, this time, catching her stomach and inflicting a scratch. The female glaucous macaw cried in pain and grasped her stomach.

"PLUTO!" screeched Lapis Lazuli pleadingly. Pluto continued standing there in intense fear. But then something bubbled within him. Something that Pluto had never shown before since the group's capture by the smugglers. When he saw Brutus attempt to scratch Lapis Lazuli again, he opened his wings and let loose an enraged squawk. Then Pluto launched himself into flight straight towards Brutus, anger reaching boiling point as he approached the vicious cat. Brutus, at this, saw a flash of soft turquoise and grey out of his eye. At this, he turned and saw Pluto fly towards him like a rocket, his sandy brown eyes burning like enormous flames. Lapis Lazuli was in too much pain from her scratched stomach to notice. Seeing that Pluto was flying in to attack him, Brutus left Lapis Lazuli alone charged towards the male glaucous macaw. As soon as the two met, Brutus and Pluto finally clashed. As the two collided, both cat and glaucous macaw rolled in a blur of turquoise and grey until stopping with Brutus flinging Pluto with his hind feet into the air. Pluto, at first was disoriented but then he managed to regain his flight and swoop down on Brutus. Brutus, at this raised a paw but before he could slash Pluto, the glaucous macaw did it first. As soon as Pluto came near, he raked his talons right across Brutus's face, inflicting intense pain. Then Pluto jumped onto Pluto's back and began to mercilessly score his claws into the cat's back. For the first time in his life, he began to brutally use his talons and beak full force. Brutus screeched in agony as Pluto continued scratching his back and biting with his beak. Brutus then tried lashing at Pluto but the glaucous macaw sank his break into his paw, making Brutus screech in pain. Lapis Lazuli, upon hearing this, looked up and to her shock saw Pluto viciously fighting Brutus. Jupiter also got a glimpse of the brawling grey cat and glaucous macaw while he wrestled with another cat. Brutus then swiped another paw at Pluto and this time, he struck Pluto across the face, knocking him out of the air and onto the ground. While Pluto was stunned, Brutus jumped on him and began to bite and claw him. Pluto screeched in pain as feathers were torn from his body and wounds opened but he managed to lift a talon and score his claws into Brutus's stomach. Brutus yelled in agony as Pluto then began to bite his shoulder. Brutus then flipped onto his back, lifted Pluto into the air and flung Pluto in the direction of Lapis Lazuli. Pluto cried in shock as he was thrown. As he crashed near Lapis Lazuli, the female glaucous macaw helped him up. But then an enraged screech reached the two glaucous macaw's ears. Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, at this, looked up and saw an insane Brutus, his eyes like brown fire storms, his fur puffed out, his mouth wide open revealing razor sharp teeth and his claws fully extended leap towards them in a killing attack. Seeing that both might not escape in time, Pluto began to brace himself as everything slowed down.

"Wait, what are you doing?" asked Lapis Lazuli.

"Look, get to safety, Lapis," said Pluto, "And let me face that cat's wrath."

Lapis Lazuli, at this, refused to move.

"I'm not going anywhere," she snapped, "If you're gonna die; I might as well die with you."

"But our species would..." said Pluto.

"We may have been chained together, Pluto," said Lapis Lazuli, "But we're still chained together even though we're not physically. I'm not gonna leave you to face a brutal death alone!"

Pluto looked up and saw that Brutus was seconds away. Lapis Lazuli then took hold of Pluto's head with her wings and turned him in her direction.

"We might as well die together," said Lapis Lazuli in a loving voice and then before Pluto could protest, she locked her beak with his and gave him a passionate kiss. Pluto's wings then wrapped around Lapis Lazuli's neck as he returned the kiss. Both macaws then prepared to be savaged by Brutus as he was by now near them enough to pounce onto them when suddenly, a vermillion blur rushed in and knocked Brutus away. At this, both glaucous macaws broke their kiss and saw that Brutus wasn't near them. Pluto turned and saw Jupiter locked in a vicious struggle with Brutus with Jupiter pinning Brutus down with a talon to the neck.

"Jupiter!" cried Pluto. Jupiter flashed a glance at him and Lapis Lazuli before he felt searing pain emanate from his stomach. At this, he leaped off of Brutus, yelled in pain and landed on his side, grasping his scratched stomach. Brutus then came up to Jupiter, now incapacitated, and prepared to land another scratch on him when suddenly, "Don't you DARE harm that scarlet macaw further, Brutus, or else."

At this, Brutus snapped out of his feral state and turned in the direction of the voice's owner, which was Catina who wore a furious look on her face, her eyes like baby blue flames. At this, Brutus became enraged.

"Or else WHAT!?" he snapped.

"Or else, I'll be bringing the police here and getting you caught," retorted Catina. Brutus, at this, left Jupiter and began to saunter towards the calico, his brown eyes burning with fury.

"I'm FINISHED with this business of catching and smuggling helpless birds out this country, I'm FORSAKING smuggling for EVER," shouted Catina.

"Oh, YEAH!?" shouted Brutus, "And what will you BE?"

"A house cat in the care of loving owners and perhaps paired up with a mate with kittens," replied Catina flatly, before turning tail and dashing off as fast as a greyhound. Brutus boiled in anger.

"Bad choice," he shouted. He turned to Jupiter as Pluto and Lapis Lazuli came to his side and shouted, "I'll be back to deal with you, feathered menaces!"

And with that, Brutus rocketed from naught to super-fast in a split second and began to chase after Catina, his feral temper consuming him again. As Brutus sped after Catina like a race car, he let loose an extremely loud and ear-piercing screech. Catina gasped in terror and continued dashing on. Brutus then began to chase Catina and gain on her for he was faster than she was. As he continued gaining on the calico, he prepared his claws so that he could attack Catina as soon as he caught her. However, this was not going to happen for at the entrance of the airport, a large fleet of siren-blaring cars with brightly coloured black and white markings and flashing blue and red lights on their tops had arrived, alongside a few dozen motorbikes also with flashing lights. Some of the motorbikes were driven by ornithologists armed with net guns and a few cages, normally used for catching injured birds to take back to Tulio's Aviary for treatment and, in rare cases, catching individuals of macaws of species close to extinction for conservation purposes, like how they would have done for Jewel and then later, Zephyr, Brisa, Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli, for they were going to use these to catch the cats to take away. In one of the police cars were Tulio, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake, Linda and Officer Miguel, and Dash and Ginger.

"That's it," said Tulio, "This is the airport."

"I think that's it over there," said Linda when she saw two trucks and a plane in the light shone by lights from the hangar. Near Officer Miguel's car, Francisco (who had returned to helping Tulio find the smugglers) and Amy were on a motorcycle. Francisco drove the motorcycle while Amy rode in a sidecar. Amy was armed with one of the net guns. As the police and ornithologist fleet drove into the airport, the sun had begun to rise, the first rays peering from the eastern horizon. This was good timing as it provided light for the police and ornithologists. When Catina heard a cacophony of sirens, she looked up and saw the fleet of police cars and bikes as they drove into the airport. However, Brutus was still gaining on her and was now seconds away from attacking her. With quick-thinking, Catina sped off towards the fleet, Brutus in hot pursuit. Francisco and Amy continued looking ahead at the two trucks and plane when suddenly; Francisco saw two forms run towards them.

"Amy, FIRE YOUR NET GUN!" he shouted. Without hesitation, Amy aimed her net gun at the two forms, which were Catina and Brutus, and fired it. A spider web-like net flew out of the barrel and straight towards the two cats. Catina saw this and immediately swerved right. However, Brutus did not have time to react and before he knew it, the net flew straight into him! Brutus screeched in surprise as the net caught and tangled around his legs, making him fall into a violent tumble before he finally stopped. Then Francisco pulled up the bike next to the caught cat while the others continued in the direction of the two trucks and the plane. Back at the two trucks and plane, the cats and birds continued fighting when the sounds of sirens reached the birds' ears. At this, Sunset looked up and saw a fleet of police cars and bikes drive towards their location.

"GUYS!" she yelled for all to hear, "THE POLICE HAS ARRIVED!"

Then without hesitation, the birds began to retreat from the smugglers' cats. They were all covered in cuts and bruises as well as torn out feathers, and a few had more serious injuries like broken or dislocated wings, such as Zephyr and Ruby. The group of birds carried the casualties and began to make a break for it with the smugglers' cats in pursuit. However, the birds led the cats straight in the path of the incoming fleet of cars and bikes. When the police and the ornithologists saw the cloud of colourful feathers, they immediately stopped their cars and bikes. Net gun armed ornithologists also jumped off their bikes and began to net the cats. While the net gun armed-ornithologists were occupied with catching the smugglers' cats, the others and the police jumped out of their cars and bikes and ran towards the birds. Among them were Linda, Susan, Lucy, Blake and Jake and they began to frantically look around for their pets, with Dash and Ginger looking around for their friends with worried eyes. When the crowd of birds, among them Veggie who had Carla, Bia and Tiago safely in his paws, and Luiz, saw the police and the others, immediately ran or flew towards them. Jupiter, who held Ruby in his wings, let loose a squawk to get Susan, Blake, Jake and Lucy's attention. At this, the four humans and two greyhounds turned and saw Jupiter come towards them with many other birds including Venus, Mars, Mercury, Ceres, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Sunset. Sunset was carrying Zephyr, who had a broken wing in her talons while Jupiter carried Ruby due to her dislocated wing, and Neptune carried Pluto and Lapis Lazuli who were scratched. All the pets were covered in cuts and bruises and Jupiter was quite badly scratched but he was able to stand up and walk despite the scratch on his stomach. When some of the pets saw four of their owners and Dash and Ginger, they ran off towards them. As soon as they met, the group was locked in a hug.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're alright," cried Susan with tears in her eyes as she hugged Mercury, Uranus and Saturn. Lucy, Blake and Jake also hugged Mars and Ceres. Dahs and Ginger also hugged the six macaws, glad that they were alright. Then Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Ceres ran off as Jupiter approached the group with Ruby in his wings. Jupiter then placed Ruby gently onto the tarmac, careful not to damage her dislocated wing while Sunset lowered Zephyr onto the tarmac next to her. Neptune also placed Pluto and Lapis Lazuli onto the tarmac as well. Both glaucous macaws had bleeding scratches but Pluto bore more marks than Lapis Lazuli did. Veggie then appeared with Carla, Bia and Tiago safe in his paws. When Susan, Lucy, Blake and Jake, and Dash and Ginger saw that Zephyr and Ruby had been badly injured, they gasped in horror. Brisa, Sapphire, Chiquitita, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Ultramarine and Cobalto also appeared. Esmeralda was carried in by Ultramarine. She was clutching her foot for it had been injured during the skirmish with the cats as they attempted to force them into cages. As Zephyr and Ruby looked up at Susan, Lucy, Blake and Jake, they looked at Jupiter and Venus. Then Tulio and another ornithologist appeared, their arms outstretched.

"Here, let me see," said Tulio gently. Zephyr, still fearful of humans, backed away. Ruby did the same. Jupiter and Venus assured them that they were in good hands. Zephyr and Ruby then reluctantly allowed Tulio and the other ornithologist to lift them off the ground to take away. Brisa then looked at Venus with uncertainty but Venus nodded that her brother was fine and in good hands. Tulio and the other ornithologist then took Zephyr and Ruby away. Then another ornithologist came to take Esmeralda, Lapis Lazuli and Pluto away.

Soon, everything had subsided in the airport and the sun had fully risen in the sky to mark the morning. The ornithologists had managed to catch all the cats and Frank, Marvin, Luke and Vera, who had been out cold all this time, were fully conscious. However, they had been arrested. Jack and Jill stood nearby and watched their former teammates get handcuffed and then guided to a police car.

"Nice try, you four but you've failed to succeed in your plans," said Officer Miguel as he had Luke sit in the car.

"Look, we didn't do anything..." protested Marvin but a policewoman said, "Shut up and get into the car."

Marvin obeyed and sat in the back seat, followed by Vera and Frank. Frank stole a glare at Jack and Jill and said nothing. As soon as the four smugglers were in the car, Officer Miguel closed the doors. Nearby, ornithologists were packing the captured and caged cats away to be taken to a cat's home. Francisco came by Brutus and looked at him closely but when he did so, Brutus hissed loudly and lashed a paw at him, making Francisco jump back.

"Whoa, vicious cat," he said, "We're not gonna allow this one to be re-homed. It is too dangerous."

"We'll have to deal with that one when we take all these cats to a cat's home," said Tulio, "But for now, let's focus on the birds."

Francisco nodded and left to help the other ornithologists, leaving Brutus to glare at him. Nearby, the remaining birds of Jupiter's group stood by watching. Jupiter had been taken away by Tulio as well for treatment of his scratches so Saturn was in charge for now. Veggie, Dash and Ginger stood with them.

"Well, that's it, I guess," said Saturn.

"Guess so," said Chiquitita.

"At least those smugglers and their cats have been caught," said Orquidea smugly. Suddenly, a white cat with orange and black blotches walked towards them. She had a concerned look on her face. When Orquidea saw the cat, she prepared to attack her but Saturn stopped her.

"Wait, Orquidea," he said, "That calico helped us escape!"

Orquidea, at this, looked at Saturn and lowered her attack mode as the calico, named Catina walked in.

"Have you seen the other two Spix macaws?" she asked, "There's those two (Brisa and Venus), the male with the broken wing's been taken in for treatment and the three chicks were present..."

"That's something I have failed to notice," said Uranus, "Where are Blu and Jewel?"

Suddenly, the group heard mournful squawking and a woman's sobs. At this, the group, especially Saturn, Chiquitita, Brisa and Venus, were flooded with horror. The group including Catina followed the source of the sounds and stopped dead, their eyes wide and beaks and mouths open in horror. Linda was cradling Blu's limp body while Jewel was trying to nuzzle her mate's head, hoping that he'd wake up. Nearby, Nico, Pedro, Rafael Luiz, Carla, Bia and Tiago stood. Nico had his bottle cap hat removed and the eyes of all seven birds and bulldog were flooded with tears. Jewel then backed away and began to chirp mournfully. Then Tulio came in when he saw Linda crouch with a blue bundle in her arms. When he saw that Blu was limp, he was filled with horror and ran over to him. Tulio looked at Blu, who had his eyes shut and felt his pulse. Luckily, Blu's pulse was still beating and he was breathing.

"He's unconscious," Tulio said to Linda, "But he's still alive. Come on; let's get him back to the Aviary for treatment."

Linda, with tears in her eyes, nodded and left with Tulio and Blu in her arms. Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago then looked at Nico, Pedro, Rafael and Luiz and followed.

"How did Blu end up unconscious?" asked Chiquitita in a low voice.

"That vicious cat Brutus must have flung him into that truck's side with such force that the impact must have knocked him out," said Catina, "I actually thought Brutus killed him but thankfully, that macaw was just knocked out cold."

"At least he's alive," said Brisa, "With assurance that he'll make a good recovery."

Suddenly, Saturn heard Susan call him and his group. At this, he looked at her and then to the others.

"We've got to go," he said. And with that, he ran off, followed by the others. Catina also followed them.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28- recovery and release into the Blu Bird Sanctuary**

A few hours later, all the birds that had almost been smuggled out of Brazil were finally back in Tulio's Aviary. Many were undergoing treatment for they were covered in scratches and bruises. But the worst injuries some of the birds sustained were broken or dislocated wings, injured feet or a lot of scratches. Amongst these causalities with these types of injuries were Zephyr and Ruby. They had been entered into surgery so that their wings can be repaired. Ruby had suffered a dislocated wing while Zephyr's wing was actually broken. Among the group of surgeons was Tulio, and he led the team that operated on Zephyr. While Tulio's team operated on Zephyr's wing and another team on Ruby's in another theatre, Brisa and Venus anxiously waited outside the operating room in which Zephyr was in. They had a few bandages on their injuries but thankfully, they had not suffered too many scratches, and Brisa had her still-sprained wing in a bandage. As Brisa and Venus waited outside the door, Neptune, who also had a few bandages on his body, came by. Beside him was Travis, whose chest was also bandaged.

"What's up, you two?" Neptune asked, "Worried about Zephyr?"

Brisa and Venus looked at him.

"Somewhat," said Brisa with a sigh, "But I'm also worried about Ruby."

"Well, they're in good hands, Brisa, you know that," said Travis, "Tulio is a skilled surgeon, Jewel told me. She also told me that Tulio was the one who helped to fix her wing when Nigel had injured it."

"I couldn't believe that Brutus was so aggressive that he would cause birds such injuries like broken wings," said Venus, "Good job the police and the ornithologists turned up in time."

"Neptune here told me everything that had happened," said Travis, "And I wasn't half horrified, especially after what that Brutus had done to Blu, Zephyr, and Ruby and almost to Pluto and Lapis Lazuli."

"I just hope Brutus is dealt with because he is an extremely dangerous cat," said Brisa with a frown, "I can't believe those smugglers would hire such a vicious cat to help with the illegal business of catching and smuggling birds."

"I agree," said Travis, "Glad I wasn't there to see him turn feral every time he lost his temper but that night when we had to run like Sonic the Hedgehog with him on our tails…" Travis shivered as he remembered the feral and savage look Brutus bore when the group fled through the slums of Rio… "I think I'm going to have nightmares about that for several coming nights."

"How are the others doing?" asked Venus. Neptune stole a glance at some of the other birds.

"Pluto's fine. He's got quite a few bandages over his injuries and Lapis Lazuli's also got a bandage on her stomach where she had been scratched," said the hyacinth macaw, "Mercury and Sapphire are fine…"

As he said this, Esmeralda limped in. Her injured foot was bandaged and in a cast.

"Hi, folks," she said.

"Hi, Es," said Brisa, "How's your foot?"

"It has a minor fracture in the ankle," said Esmeralda, "But thankfully it wasn't completely broken. Francisco and another ornithologist have set it in a cast."

She then sighed and said, "You know, I'm grateful that not all humans are destructive creatures. We were proven wrong."

"I agree," said Brisa. Just then a door near them opened, but it wasn't the door leading to Zephyr's operating room. At this, the two Spix macaws, sulfur-crested cockatoo, great green macaw and hyacinth macaw turned and saw Linda walk out with a couple of medical assistants. Then Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago flew out and perched onto the door's top.

"Well at least those three chicks are alright," said Esmeralda.

"Veggie actually did much of the protecting of them while Blu and Jewel, their parents helped us deal with Brutus," said Neptune. Venus and Brisa then smiled as a dark blue bird with a large black beak and brown eyes walked out. He had a bandage on his head and also bandages on other parts of his body too. At this, Brisa and Venus jumped down and met the macaw.

"Blu," said Venus with a smile, "You're awake."

"Yes," said Blu, "After I had finally come round, Jewel told me that I had been out cold for almost an hour and I was kept in that bird's ward so that I could rest and recover. Thankfully, the damage was not too serious."

"When we saw you lying in your owner's arms, we thought you were dead at first," said Brisa, "You must be as tough as a rock to survive that powerful impact you had against the truck when that cat flung you into it."

Jewel then fluttered down and landed near Brisa.

"It was very close," she said, "But it seemed that Blu had likely crashed against that thing flat for him to survive. Had he landed headfirst, he probably would have broken his neck."

"That would have been fatal," said Travis, "And you would have been without a mate and your chicks without a father."

"True," said Jewel. Then Venus said, "You should have seen Pluto when he attacked Brutus, Blu. He was extremely aggressive. That's the first time I had ever seen him that aggressive in my life. Certainly not so brave."

As Venus said this, Jupiter and Chiquitita came by. Jupiter's stomach was bandaged while Chiquitita only had a few smaller bandages.

"Pluto and Lapis Lazuli were almost killed by that cat," Jupiter said, "But luckily, I managed to break free from some of the cats that tried to cage me in enough time to tackle that cat before he could kill the glaucous macaws."

"Had any bird suffered at Brutus's feral temper?" asked Jewel. Travis then stepped in.

"I was talking to a yellow parakeet and she told me that her parents had been killed by that cat the other year," he said, "They had provoked him and he lashed at them and slaughtered them with his claws."

Blu, Jewel, Venus, Brisa, Esmeralda, Jupiter, Neptune and Chiquitita flinched harshly as Travis said this. Then Jupiter glanced up at the three chicks as they nuzzled against Linda's cheek much to her amusement.

"Er… Travis," he said, "Maybe that subject is not an ideal thing to talk about with Blu and Jewel's kids around."

"Quite right," said Jewel. She then looked up at Carla, Bia and Tiago as they fluttered around Linda's head.

"Well, we'd better go, anyway," said Jewel, "Blu needs to be checked up by an ornithologist and I'd like to accompany him. I'll see you guys later."

And with that, she and Blu left with Linda and they went away to the main treatment room. Chiquitita smiled.

"Jewel sure has her wings full with those three little rascals," she said, "And I'm sure Blu does as well."

Suddenly, the door to the operation theatre in which Zephyr clicked open, making the two Spix macaws, sulfur-crested cockatoo, hyacinth macaw, great green macaw and scarlet macaw and tiny green-winged macaw jump.

"Tulio's coming out of the operation theatre folks," said Jupiter, "Move out of the way."

The group did so as a group of surgeons dressed in blue-white surgery outfits and masks over their mouths, came out. At the front was Tulio and he was carrying a bundle of something wrapped in cloth in his arms. Brisa and Venus attempted to follow but Jupiter and Neptune stopped them. As Tulio carried the bundle, which was Zephyr in his arms to the recovery room, Linda came up to him.

"How's the Spix macaw, Tulio?" she asked.

"In a minute, my sweet," said Tulio as he disappeared into the recovery room. Then a few minutes later, Tulio came back out and pulled the mask covering his nose and mouth.

"He's fine," he said to Linda, "We've managed to realign the broken bones and set the wing in a cast. That macaw is going to require wearing it in the coming weeks while the bones heal…"

Brisa, at this, made a saddened face.

"Don't worry, Zephyr will be able to fly again," said Neptune in an assuring voice, "But we must allow time for his wing to heal first."

Brisa sighed and looked at her bandaged wing, the one that was sprained.

"At least I don't have a fractured wing," she said. Then suddenly, the door leading to the other operating theatre opened and the other team of surgeons walked out. Jupiter, Venus, Brisa, Esmeralda, Chiquitita, Neptune and Travis backed away as the group of humans walked past them. One of them, a woman, had a bundle wrapped in a cloth in her arms, and Chiquitita could tell that it was Ruby.

"Looks like those humans are done fixing Ruby's dislocated wing," said Chiquitita as the woman then took Ruby into the recovery room. The seven birds then backed away further so that the surgeons didn't accidentally step on them. Then Mars ran in, an alarmed look on his face.

"Folks," he cried, "Folks."

At this, all seven heads turned and face Mars as he screeched to a halt. Like most of the other birds, he had bandages too.

"Whoa, easy, Mars," said Esmeralda, "You've wounds in the process of healing."

"Have you heard the news about Brutus?" asked Mars, "I've been listening to the radio on the news…"

When he mentioned 'radio', Chiquitita, Brisa and Esmeralda gave him a confused look.

"A radio is a box with a silvery stick and holes in it where sound comes out," explained Jupiter, "Humans use those to listen to music and news and whatnot."

"Interesting," said Brisa.

"Go on, Mars," said Esmeralda. Travis, Venus and Neptune also listened.

"Brutus has managed to escape his cage and attack his captors," said Mars, "But when he tried to escape by running across the road, he ended up being hit by a car."

The seven birds flinched at this.

"That must have been injurious," said Travis. Mars shook his head.

"The collision was actually fatal," he said, "Brutus appeared so suddenly in the road that the driver did not have time to react and his car struck Brutus."

Silence fell on the seven macaws and cockatoo. Then Brisa broke it.

"At least that cat's gone for good now," she said, "He was well and truly dangerous, he was."

"Absolutely," said Esmeralda. Jupiter, Travis, Mars, Venus, Chiquitita and Neptune, however, said nothing. Then Jupiter said, "Well, let's just forget about that cat. He's gone now so there's no point in worrying about it."

"Wait, there's more," said Mars, "I've also heard Susan and Lucy talk about adopting Ginger and Catina into our family and breeding them with Veggie and Dash in the future. Looks like we're going to have two new additions to our family..."

"Well at least Ginger won't have to continue living as a stray anymore," said Jupiter with a smile.

"And at least Catina will have a better purpose in her life," said Neptune. Travis then said, "Well, now that the smugglers are caught, now what?"

"Well," said Jupiter, "Venus, Mercury and Pluto will be preparing for their lives on the Blu Bird Sanctuary…"

"And so will us;" said Mars, "Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake are on about releasing us into the wild along with Venus, Mercury and Pluto as they felt that we'd miss those three macaws too terribly…"

"Well, that's good news," said Chiquitita, "I'm glad to hear it."

"Me too," said Esmeralda, "You lot are such good friends, especially Uranus."

"And we feel like we belong here as well," said Neptune.

"But what about me and Sunset?" asked Travis, "Did Susan and Lucy mention about leaving us in Rio too?"

"I didn't quite catch the discussion very well, Travis, but I should assume so," replied Mars. Travis, at this, put on a hopeful smile. He wanted to stay in Rio and be with his friends for they were like a family to him, and he sure Sunset felt the same way. Then Travis heard Drake call him.

"Oh, aye," said Travis, "Drake wants me. I gotta go."

And with that, he ran off, leaving the seven macaws to smile after him.

"I think a bird doctor wants to check his scratch to make sure it is healing okay or if the bandage wants replacing," said Neptune. Then he sighed and said, "Well, I'm going to return to the group of birds I was talking to including Ultramarine, so I'll speak to you lot later."

And with that, he walked away.

"And we might check on Zephyr and Ruby," said Venus.

"Er.. About that, they might still be under general anaesthetic," said Jupiter, "And might need time for the anaesthetic to wear off before you go in and see them."

"Of course," muttered Brisa. Then both female Spix macaws sighed. Somewhere else in the room, Mercury and Sapphire were speaking with Nico and Pedro. The two Lear's macaws had a few bandages.

"Where's Rafael lately?" asked Mercury, "I haven't seen him since Zephyr and Brisa entered into surgery."

"He's gone home, Merc," said Nico, "He only had a few cuts and bruises and th' ornithologists felt that he didn't need any serious treatment."

"Well, at least Rafael need not stay here too long," said Sapphire, jolting her head a bit to shift one of her long head feathers out of her face, "Especially since he has a mate with eighteen chicks to deal with."

"I hope Eva's alright," said Mercury concerned, "Having to deal with almost twenty chicks by herself while Rafael is away helping us."

"She's fine, Merc," said Pedro with a cheeky smile, "Don't worry."

Mercury sighed and then sat down.

"Well, what's next for you, Sapphire?" he asked, "Wanting to be out of here and be free once your minor injuries have healed?"

"Hmm, well, I did have a think about that," said Sapphire, "But since we're the only pair of Lear's macaws in Rio with a large flock of Lear's hundreds of thousands of kilometres away on the Eastern side of Brazil, I'm finding that idea repulsive. I don't want to spend the rest of my years living alone with no other Lear's macaw by my side…"

When Nico and Pedro heard this, they smiled hopefully. However, Mercury, though inside he felt hopeful, felt sympathy.

"Well, um… I don't want a future of living alone either," he murmured, "With no other Lear's macaw by my side, so I know how you feel."

Sapphire, at this, looked at him.

"You do?" she asked.

"Yes," said Mercury. He then stood up and said, "For all my life since I was given to Susan and Lucy with Venus as a chick back in London, I grew up under the belief that Venus, Pluto and I were types of hyacinth macaws, but looking back now, especially after the recent shock that I'm a Lear's macaw, Pluto is a glaucous and Venus is a Spix, I realise that I have actually spent all my years living as the only Lear's macaw my group knows of… until now."

"It must have been quite a lonesome life," said Sapphire.

"It probably would have been," said Mercury, "But I wasn't aware that I was a Lear's macaw until a few days ago…"

He then found himself gazing into Sapphire's blue eyes and trailed off. Sapphire smiled back at him as she also gazed into Mercury's rocky grey eyes. Nico and Pedro smiled and then backed away to avoid interrupting the moment. However, that moment was broken when the two Lear's macaws heard Saturn's voice.

"Mercury, Sapphire," said the blue-and-gold macaw. at this, the two Lear's macaws turned and looked at Saturn. His beige eyes were shining brightly and he looked jubilant.

"What is it, Saturn?" asked Mercury.

"I asked Orquidea if we would like to go out together and she said yes," said Saturn, "Can't you believe it? We're going to go out on our first date to get to know each other better."

"Well, congratulations, Saturn, I'm happy for you," said Sapphire.

"Me too," said Mercury in a less joyful voice. Saturn's face fell when he saw how sad Mercury looked.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Mercury sighed and looked down.

"You're not jealous, are you?" asked Nico. Mercury glared at him.

"No," he said, "Of course not. It's just that…"

"Just what?" asked Saturn. Mercury sighed.

"It's just that… after realising that I have been born here…" he said sombrely, "I now realise that I may have been smuggled out as a chick… and may have lost my family in the process…"

"It happens a lot when a bird is smuggled," said Sapphire, "A friend of mine lost her parents when smugglers came and attacked us once while I was a chick. He had become an orphan."

Mercury then sighed deeply and Saturn placed a comforting wing on his back. Sapphire then said to Mercury, "Well, having said that, it seems that we both have something in common. I am a lonely Lear's macaw. I guess I should be with another Lear's macaw, don't you think?"

"Well," said Mercury, "I think it's best if you live a free life, to be honest. When we met, we got off on the wrong talon, and I don't want to repeat that offense again."

"Look, back then, those ornithologists were trying to rush things," said Sapphire with a frown, "I'm sure you've learnt your lesson…"

"Yes, I have," said Mercury. He then looked up at her and said, "Well, I hope you have a happy and free life once you're released. Even though I'll be living on the Blu Bird Sanctuary too…"

Sapphire, at this, sighed and turned to walk away, disappointed, leaving Mercury to continue looking down to the table surface. Saturn, Nico and Pedro looked at him as Ceres came in with Cobalto. Cobalto had his sprained wing back in a bandage and Ceres also had a few bandages. When she saw how despondent Mercury was, Ceres went up to him.

"Mercury," she said. Mercury looked up at the female blue-throated macaw.

"I know how much you're upset over the loss of your family but you need to let go of your past," said Ceres, "And have a future."

Saturn nodded and said, "I agree, Mercury. This is a new chapter for all of us including Dash, Veggie, Sunset and Travis."

"Go after her, Merc," said Nico encouragingly. Mercury looked up at him.

"But what if she…" he began.

"Oh, nonsense," said Pedro, "I can tell you want to be with her and she wants to be wi' you. Now go and tell her your feelings."

Mercury, encouraged by the cardinal's words, turned and looked back at Sapphire as she continued walking away.

"Okay, I will," he said with renewed happiness. And with that, he rushed off after Sapphire.

"Tulio's going to be proud if those two decide to pair up," said Cobalto, "Pluto and Lapis Lazuli have also paired up, much to the jubilation of the ornithologists."

"Well, dat's good," said Nico. Saturn, Ceres and Pedro smiled as they watched Mercury run after Sapphire.

"Sapphire," he called. At this, Sapphire popped her head up and looked back.

"Mercury?" she asked. Mercury continued running towards her but tripped and fell flat on his face, much to Sapphire's surprise. Saturn, Ceres, Cobalto, Nico and Pedro winced as Mercury fell down. Sapphire, with an amused smile and a roll of her eyes, helped Mercury back onto his feet.

"I don't want us to be together because we have to," explained Mercury, "I want us to be that because we want to, and I want to be with you Sapphire. What do you think?"

"Er…" Sapphire thought. Then she smiled at Mercury and said, "I have that same desire as you, Mercury. Yes I do."

And with that, both Lear's macaws began to lovingly nuzzle their beaks together and share a kiss. Some of the birds surrounding the pair looked on with smiles on their faces. Saturn then turned to Nico and Pedro and smiled.

"Well, that's the second pairing Tulio and his team were hoping for," he said, "Now all they need to wait is for Zephyr and Venus to pair up."

"They're already showing signs that they are, Saturn," said Cobalto, "Venus was waiting outside that operation something, something room…"

"Operating theatre," said Saturn.

"That's it," said Cobalto, "Outside that room with Brisa, indicating that she was concerned for him."

He then looked at the entrance to the recovery room and said, "And I think those two operating teams will have finished fixing Zephyr and Ruby's wings by now…"

"They have," said Ceres, "I saw Tulio carry Zephyr into the recovery room. Ruby's operators followed shortly after."

"Well, those two will be on a road to good recovery now," said Saturn, "And then the next step once our injuries have fully healed, learning to fly again."

"Yeah, I've been grounded for quite some time," said Cobalto as he looked down at his bandaged sprained wing.

"Jupiter's tattered left wing would take time to regrow its flight feathers," said Saturn, "While our damaged feathers will be shed and replaced by new ones."

Nico and Pedro smiled.

"Well, I'd love to continue conversin' but we have to move on," said Nico, "I'll talk to you lot later."

"Let us know how your date with Orquidea goes, Saturn boy," said Pedro cheekily.

"I will," said Saturn as the canary and cardinal moved away. He sighed to the two blue-throated macaws.

"And I certainly am looking forward to it," he said with a sigh.

The next weeks had passed in a blur and during those weeks, things were improving. Travis, Sunset, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Ceres's scratches and cuts had healed, and those the other birds had suffered had also healed up. However, some injuries such as Zephyr's broken wing will require more time to heal up, and it would require more time for those whose wing feathers were damaged or torn out, such as Jupiter's left wing and Ruby's clipped wings, to grow back and replace the damaged feathers. Despite this, things were looking positive. Susan and Lucy had adopted Catina and Ginger and they had become the girlfriends of Veggie and Dash respectively. The macaw and cockatoo couples also seemed to be showing signs of romance and pairing up. Mercury had paired up with Sapphire, Venus had paired up with Zephyr, Mars with Chiquitita, Jupiter with Ruby, Saturn with Orquidea, Uranus with Esmeralda, Neptune with Ultramarine, Pluto with Lapis Lazuli, Ceres with Cobalto and Travis with Sunset despite being two different cockatoo species. Jack and Jill had been adopted by Francisco and his wife and they became the adoptive siblings to their two sons, while Susan and Lucy had made the decision to stay in Rio to complete their ecology degree. Blake, Drake and Jake, however, had decided to go back to London to complete their degree there. They had left their pets in their care of their two cousins Susan and Lucy. Susan, Lucy, Blake, Jake and Drake had also given thanks to God for keeping their pets safe and having the smugglers caught, and the smugglers, Marvin, Frank, Vera and Luke, had been imprisoned and their cats apart from Brutus who had died after being hit by a car while trying to escape, had been taken to a cat's rehoming centre. Things were indeed looking up over this time period.

Then after Jupiter's group's injuries had healed, including Zephyr's broken wing, the macaws were ready to be released back into the wild. On the Vista Chinesa, where the plaque reading 'Blu Bird Sanctuary' with Blu's face in the centre was stuck, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Tulio, Linda, Fernando, Jack and Jill stood ready to release Jupiter's group into the jungle. Veggie, Catina, Dash, Ginger, Sunset and Travis were with them. Francisco placed Blu, Jewel and their three chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago onto the railing. Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago then took off from the railing and hovered in the air to wait for Blu. Blu then said goodbye to Linda one final time by doing a first bump with her. After this, Blu took off into the sky after his family. As Blu flew away, Tulio lifted Sapphire in his hands into the air. Sapphire smiled at Tulio and with one flap, she took off from Tulio's hands and flew into the sky and hovered to wait for her friends. Jack, Jill and Fernando then released Zephyr, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli while Tulio, Linda and Fernando released Ruby, Chiquitita, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Cobalto and Ultramarine. Jack and Jill held Zephyr and Brisa respectively in the air and the two sibling Spix macaws also took off and flew up towards Sapphire. Francisco also held Lapis Lazuli in the air and she took from his hands. Fernando then held up Chiquitita while Tulio held up Ruby and Linda held up Orquidea. The three took off one by one and Sapphire, Zephyr, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli in the air. Finally, Francisco, Jack and Jill released Esmeralda, Cobalto and Ultramarine. Jack allowed Esmeralda to fly into the sky while Jill released Cobalto. Cobalto, glad to be able to fly again, eagerly and immediately took off from Jill's hands and flew into the sky. At the same time, Ultramarine took off from Francisco's hands and joined the other nine. All ten then hovered in the air to wait for their counterparts. Susan and Lucy then placed Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto, who had been on their arms and shoulders while Tulio, Linda, Fernando, Francisco, Jack and Jill had released the firs ten, onto the railing and began to say their goodbyes to them. Susan petted each one of the nine macaws on their heads while Lucy hugged them. Then Veggie, Catina, Dash, Ginger, Travis and Sunset began to say their goodbyes to the macaws. Veggie hugged Jupiter and Saturn with his front legs, tears running down his face.

"Don't forget about us, okay?" he said. He then hugged the other macaws while Dash took his turn in hugging Jupiter and Saturn.

"We won't forget about you," said Dash. Jupiter and Saturn then broke the hug with their greyhound friend. Dash then hugged the other seven macaws. After this, the nine said goodbye to Travis, Sunset, Ginger and Catina.

"Your boyfriends and girlfriends up there are waiting," said Catina. At this, Jupiter looked up and saw Zephyr, Brisa and company still hovering in the air waiting for them. Looking at Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Pluto and Ceres, Jupiter took off into the air, followed by the other eight. Saturn left next, then Uranus, Ceres and Neptune, and then finally Mars, Mercury, Venus and Pluto. Sunset leaned onto Travis's shoulder while Ginger nuzzled against Dash and Catina nuzzled against Veggie. The six humans behind them also smiled as they watched their feathered friends leave to start a new chapter in their lives.

"Goodbye, Jupiter," said Susan lovingly, "Goodbye, Venus, Mercury and Pluto, and goodbye, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Mars, until we meet again."

Lucy, Francisco, Fernando, Tulio and Linda just smiled as they watched the small colourful flock then fly away. Jupiter and Ruby flew away together, while Saturn flew alongside Orquidea, Uranus flew alongside Esmeralda, Neptune flew alongside Ultramarine, Pluto followed Lapis Lazuli, Mars flew with Chiquitita by his side, Ceres and Cobalto flew away together, Mercury and Sapphire flew together and Venus followed Zephyr and Brisa. Tulio smiled as the birds soon disappeared out of earshot.

"And we'll be looking forward to seeing some Lear's and glaucous macaw chicks and some more Spix macaw chicks," he said hopefully.

"Yup," said Francisco, "Looks like we've reached the goals of this stage of our conservation project: a second pair of Spix macaws, the pairing of the last pair of glaucous macaws and the pairing of the only two Lear's macaws in this part of Brazil."

Susan and Lucy smiled as they continued watching their nine macaws disappear into the jungle with Travis, Sunset, Catina, Veggie, Dash and Ginger also watching with smiles on their faces.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29- epilogue**

 **Around seven months later…**

The jungle was alive with song and various coloured feathered forms. Birds of various types and species danced in the air and on the branches of the trees, singing their favourite song, 'Real in Rio' and among a few other favourite songs. Dancing among the colourful flock were two blue macaws, one dark blue with brown eyes and the other cerulean with teal eyes. With them were three more blue macaws, which were young chicks, a red crested cardinal and his bottle cap wearing yellow canary buddy, and toco toucan and his keel-billed toucan mate and their eighteen hybrid offspring. Blu, Jewel and their three chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago flew acrobatically through the elegant flock of birds with Nico and Pedro flying by. Rafael, Eva and their eighteen offspring were also singing and dancing. Then after the song of 'Real in Rio', Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago flew into the air to play together.

Carla, Bia and Tiago had all changed radically in appearance over the past seven months. Carla had grown into a beautiful young chick with brighter blue feathers. Her eyes had also become a brighter green in colour, brighter than her mother Jewel's. Carla had also taken on a chubby appearance and her crest had become more like that of her mother's. Her facial markings had also become a darker shade of blue. They were a patch around each eye and a band over the top of her beak. Carla had also grown more and more into the subject of music, dancing and singing, and she had a beautiful singing voice. She was also slightly feisty and a little prideful at times. Bia had also grown into a beautiful young chick but her body build had taken on a more slender build, like that of her mother Jewel. Bia, in fact, looked like a spitting image of her mother apart from her brown eyes which she had inherited from her father Blu. Bia's crest, however, was flatter and fell straight down behind her head and her fascial markings were like those of Carla's but blue-white instead of darker blue. Bia's interests in science and nature had drastically grown over the past six months and she was now like her father Blu, sometimes able to quote scientific facts about various things. Bia was more timid than Carla, and sometimes had low self-esteem. Tiago, the only son of Blu and Jewel, had also radically changed in appearance. However, he had retained his darker blue feathers. His crest had become bushier similar to Jewel's and his brown eyes had become slightly darker. Tiago's build was slender like Bia and Jewel's build and he had a scatter of downy feathers around his neck and chest. Tiago was the rascal of the three chicks of Blu and Jewel and likes practical jokes and light hearted mischief.

As the Spix macaw family flew over the green sea of trees, laughing and playfully chasing each other, with Nico, Pedro and Rafael joining in, the sun beamed down its golden shafts of light onto the jungle. There were a few clouds in the sky but it was a beautiful day. Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago continued flying through the trees, playfully chasing each other and Nico, Pedro and Rafael.

"Hah, I'm faster than you, sis," shouted Tiago to Carla playfully.

"Oh, yeah, but can you do this?" said Carla with a boastful voice and with that, she did an impressive corkscrew. When Tiago tried to mimic this, the only thing he did was fly in a helical path rather than straight and spinning much to Carla's amusement.

"Aw, man," muttered Tiago as Carla laughed at him and flew away. Tiago then chased after her. As the two chicks flew ahead of Blu, Jewel and Bia who laughed, two dark navy blue and teal face and chested macaws flew in. Carla and Tiago, startled by the unexpected appearance of Mercury and Sapphire, immediately retreated to their parents' sides.

"Whoa, it's okay, you two, it's only us," said Mercury with a laugh. The group laughed as the two Lear's macaws then joined in the fun. However, Mercury and Sapphire were no longer the only Lear's macaws to live near Rio. As the couple began to playfully chase Blu, Jewel and Rafael and play with their three chicks, three smaller dark navy and teal forms flew in and began to play with Carla, Bia and Tiago. Mercury and Sapphire had become the proud parents of three beautiful daughters named Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette. Like their parents and every other Lear's macaw, all three had very dark navy blue feathers and teal tinted faces and chests, as well as orange-yellow eye rings and a lappet by their lower beaks. Phoebe was the oldest daughter. She had inherited Sapphire's slightly stocky build and woman's hair like crest. However, Phoebe's crest feathers were shorter than Sapphire's and they only extended as far as her shoulders. She had grey eyes, just like her father Mercury and was an agile flyer. Jasmine, the second oldest daughter and middle chick, also had Sapphire's crest feathers but of the same length but she also had a small tassel of feathers sticking up from her crown, like that of Mercury. Her body build was slender like her father and her eyes were blue like her mother's. Annette, the youngest daughter of Sapphire and Mercury, was quite different from her sisters. She had a large tassel crest on her head like that of Mercury and a fairly slender build. However, her eyes were unique amongst her family. While her sisters and parents had either grey or blue eyes, Annette's eye shade was half way between Mercury's grey eye colour and Sapphire's blue eye colour, a sort of bluish-grey. Phoebe had a love for anything bright and colourful, and was quite talented at art, while Jasmine favoured song and had a beautiful singing voice much like Carla, and Annette favoured dancing. However, she would rather not sing for she was very shy and she felt that her singing voice was not very good. All three did have one favourite topic in common and that was stargazing, a thing both Mercury and Sapphire also liked doing. While Mercury and Sapphire flew alongside Blu and Jewel, their three daughters began to playfully chase Blu and Jewel's two daughters and son.

"Hey, Bia," shouted Phoebe, "What's the scientific name for coconut tree?"

" _Cocos nucifera,_ " replied Bia almost immediately. Mercury smiled at Bia's talent in science.

"We'll make a nature encyclopaedia out of her one of these days," he said to Blu and Jewel.

"She's very good at science, like Blu," said Jewel with a loving nuzzle against Blu's beak. Then Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette began to play with Carla, Bia and Tiago. Nico, Pedro and Rafael then joined in the chase just as three more adult Spix macaws joined the party with six more Spix macaw chicks.

Zephyr and Venus had become the proud parents of a clutch of four chicks. Their chicks were eldest son and chick Justin, second oldest chick and oldest daughter Charlotte, third oldest chick and second oldest daughter Matilda, and youngest chick and son Virgil. Brisa had also become a proud aunt of Zephyr and Venus's chicks. Justin was practically the spitting image of his father Zephyr. Like Zephyr, he had a blue body with a blue-white head and a short tuft of blue feathers just above his beak like Zephyr does. He also had his father's stocky build and showed little inheritance from Venus. The only feature he had inherited from Venus was her amber eyes. Justin was quite into music and dancing, like Carla, but his taste in music expanded to the seventies, eighties and nineties besides the most recent decade songs which were Carla's preferred range of music. Carla and Justin were also close friends due to their common taste in music despite the difference in time range. Charlotte looked a lot like her aunt Brisa. Like Brisa, she had cerulean feathers and crest which extended over her crown, a blue-white head and a slender build. However, her eyes were chartreuse, sort of half way between Zephyr's green eye colour and Venus's amber eye colour. Charlotte did not share anything in common with Carla, Bia and Tiago but she was an avid soccer player and had a real talent for it. Matilda, unlike her older brother and sister, showed more inheritance from Venus than she did Zephyr. Like Venus, she had a light feather colour shade but hers were much brighter, almost electric blue. Also unlike Zephyr, Justin and Charlotte, Matilda had inherited Venus's blue-white spec-like facial markings (a patch around each eye connected by a band over the beak). Her crest was also from Venus: a double set of head feathers resembling pigtails, but like Venus, Matilda preferred to keep them tied in a vine or bobble to prevent the feathers from flopping about all over the place. Her eyes were green, however, like Zephyr's and she had a slender build. Matilda liked practical jokes and mischief much like Tiago did. Because of this, the two had become close friends and loved to play practical jokes on their friends together. Finally, Virgil had electric blue feathers like Matilda and also spec-like markings but his crest did not resemble either Venus or Zephyr's set of head feathers. Instead, he had a ruffle of feathers on the back of his head. Venus's father Erico had this sort of head feather set. Virgil also had a stocky build and his eyes were blue, unlike his parents and siblings. Again, Erico had blue eyes and Venus must have passed on his eye shade to Virgil. Virgil was named after a character from the _Thunderbirds_ franchise, Virgil Tracy, the _Thunderbirds_ being one of Venus's favourite TV series when she lived in London. Virgil was the toughest of Zephyr and Venus's chicks, and was protective of those that are not very assertive or are shy. He appeared fond of Bia and loved listening to her give out scientific facts, though he does not always agree with certain things like evolution.

Zephyr, Venus and Brisa, together with Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil, began to join in the fun with Blu, Mercury and their families. Brisa then smiled as the seven Spix macaw chicks and three Lear's macaw chicks began chasing each other.

"I'm gonna get ya, you little rascals" she said with a light hearted smile and with that, she began to pursue the chicks much to the amusement of Zephyr, Venus, Blu, Jewel, Mercury and Sapphire. Zephyr and Venus shared a brief kiss as they looked on. Soon, the group was joined by the other macaws, Mars and his mate Chiquitita, Jupiter and his mature Ruby, Saturn and his mate Orquidea, Uranus and his mate Esmeralda, Neptune and his mate Ultramarine, Ceres and her mate Cobalto, and Pluto and his mate Lapis Lazuli. Like Mercury, Venus and their respective mates Sapphire and Zephyr, these seven pairs had also had chicks.

Mars and Chiquitita had become the proud parents of three chicks: all sons named Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre. Phobos was the oldest chick, Deimos was the second oldest and Alexandre was the youngest. Because of her small size, some ornithologists including Tulio had doubted that Chiquitita would ever conceive and have a clutch of eggs but she had proved them wrong. Like all green-winged macaws, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre had red feathers, face masks of white skin, and green and blue wings on the topsides. Phobos and Deimos were both very small despite being the oldest two chicks and must have inherited Chiquitita's petite size. They both looked a lot like their father Mars and to a degree, Chiquitita especially for their small size. They both had azure blue wing flight feathers like both their parents, but their tails were different. Phobos's tail was part azure; part red like his father while Deimos's tail was almost entirely red like his mother Chiquitita, whose tail was almost completely red. Both small siblings had a crest like Mars: a feather ruffle at the base of their heads. Phobos had green eyes like Chiquitita and Deimos had orange eyes like Mars. Both Phobos and Deimos had a slender build also like Chiquitita. Alexandre, the youngest son, was taller than his two older siblings for he had inherited Mars's average green-winged macaw size. He had a stocky build like Mars but his crest was a flat sheet of feathers behind his head rather like Chiquitita but without the flick. His eyes were green like his mother's and his tail was mostly azure blue with red at the tips of the feathers. Phobos and Deimos, named after the two moons of Mars's namesake Red Planet, were timid while Alexandre was tough, like his father and his mother. Phobos and Deimos were very good friends with Aurora, the youngest daughter of Zephyr and Venus because of their common small size, and Chiquitita had also taken a liking to Aurora and had been the one to help Zephyr and Venus to finally teach her to fly when Aurora struggled. This was a good thing since before, Chiquitita, along with Ruby, used to despise Jewel, Brisa and Zephyr but now they were the best of friends and this was shown in Mars and Venus's positive interfamily interactions. Phobos and Deimos did not show much interest or strong like in a particular subject but Alexandre was a talented dancer.

Jupiter and Ruby had also become the proud parents but they had four chicks instead of three: three daughters named Io, Europa and Callisto and a son named Ganymede. Both Jupiter and Ruby had agreed to name their four chicks after the moons of Jupiter's namesake giant planet for they both liked those names. Io was the oldest daughter and chick while Europa was the second oldest, Ganymede was the third oldest and Callisto was the youngest. Like all scarlet macaws, all four chicks' feathers were a shade of red and they all had the distinctive yellow band between the blue flight feathers and red contours on their wings. Io had red feathers like her mother Ruby and she also had her amber eyes, slender build and the flower-like crest. However, she had inherited Jupiter's teal-tinted turquoise feathers and tail parts. Despite being the oldest of her brood, Io was one of the shortest. Europa also looked a lot like Ruby and had her slender build and flower-like crest but she also had additional feathers just at the base of her head. Her eyes were a shade of blue, which was unusual since neither Jupiter nor Ruby had blue eyes. However, a member of Ruby's family did have blue eyes and it must have been passed on through Ruby. Europa's feathers were vermillion like her father and her wing flight feathers (topsides) and parts of her tail were blue like Ruby's. Europa was also the shortest of the brood despite being the second born. Ganymede was the tallest of the brood and had a stocky and muscular build like his father Jupiter but he had Ruby's red feathers. His wing feathers and parts of his tail feathers were also blue like Ruby's and Ganymede had a cluster of feathers at the back of his head and brown eyes like Jupiter. Finally, Callisto was also tall but slightly shorter than Ganymede. She looked the most like Jupiter than the other three chicks. Like Jupiter, Callisto had vermillion feathers, teal-tinted turquoise wing feathers and tail parts, and a flat sheet of head feathers also like Jupiter. However, her head feathers had a flick to them much like Jewel's. Callisto's eyes were a dark shade of brown, like that of dark chocolate, and she had a slender build like Ruby, and was not as muscular as her father and brother. Io was into music like Carla and Justin, Europa liked mischief like Tiago and Matilda, Ganymede was into science much like Bia and Callisto liked soccer like Charlotte.

Saturn and Orquidea, had had a rather big clutch, which was of seven chicks. Their chicks were named, from oldest to youngest, Mimas (daughter), Enceladus (son), Tethys, Dione, Rhea (all three daughters), Titan and Iapetus (both sons), again all named after moons of a planet (in this case, Saturn's namesake ringed planet). All seven chicks had the same features as every blue-and-gold macaw. Their back parts were blue while their front parts were yellow, and they also had green foreheads, black beard-like mark under their beaks and some facial skin. However, they did have differing features. Mimas looked a lot like Orquidea and her blue shade was cerulean while her yellow shade was slightly pale, like her mother. She had a green tuft of feathers on her forehead like Saturn and she also had his beige eyes. Her body build was slender like her mother. Enceladus also had a cerulean back and yellow front but unlike his parents and siblings, his wing feathers were a darker shade of cerulean towards the tips. His crest was a green tuft like Saturn and he had his stocky build but his eyes were a shade of pale blue. One of Orquidea's close relatives had blue eyes. Tethys, Dione and Rhea were similar to triplets. All three looked alike but up close they had differing features. All three girls looked a lot like Orquidea and had her cerulean back and pale yellow front, and they also had her ponytail-like crest, which they kept tied with a vine, and pink or purple shaded eyes. Tethys had a short ponytail with magenta eyes, Dione had a medium length ponytail and had pink eyes and Rhea had the longest ponytail of the three with violet eyes. All three showed little inheritance from Saturn though Rhea did have a small tuft of feathers on her green forehead. The last two sons, Titan and Iapetus, were quite different again. Titan was the tallest of his brood despite being the sixth born and must have inherited Saturn's rather large size as well as his fairly muscular build as well as his dark aqua blue back parts and rich yellow front parts and beige eyes, so Titan looked an awful lot like Saturn and showed little inheritance from Orquidea. However, he neither had Saturn or Orquidea's crest. His crest was a simple ruffle at the back of his head. Finally, Iapetus looked the most unusual of the seven siblings. His back was a dark shade of blue, dark aqua like Saturn's but his front was pale yellow like Orquidea's, resulting in a strong contrast between his blue back and yellow front. Iapetus had a green tuft of feathers like Mimas, Enceladus and Rhea, but his were the longest in the brood and the feathers extended over his crown similar to how Brisa's did. Iapetus had brown eyes, a shade that some relative in either Saturn or Orquidea's family tree must have had, and a stocky build like Saturn. Mimas liked soccer, Enceladus like nature though he was not as brainy as Bia or Ganymede, Tethys, Dione and Rhea liked mischief to a degree, Titan liked art and music, and Iapetus was a talented singer and dancer. Because of the brood size, Saturn and Orquidea did hire a babysitter to help them raise their seven chicks and they were sometimes helped by their friends as well. The seven eggs were not laid at the same time but over the course of two or three days and it was extremely rare for broods to be of this size.

Uranus and Esmeralda had also become proud parents of a clutch of five chicks, four older girls named Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel and Titania and youngest and only son Oberon. Like two of Mars and Chiquitita's chicks and all of Jupiter, Ruby and Saturn and Orquidea's chicks, these five were named after a planet's moons, but of the moons of Uranus this time. Uranus and Esmeralda had settled on these names as the names Miranda and Titania were two of Esmeralda's favourite names and they also happened to be the names of two of the moons of the planet Uranus. Like all great green macaws, the five sisters and brother had a green upper body, wings and head, some skin around their faces, red foreheads, wing flight feathers, parts of their tail and lower backs that were blue and yellow wing and tail undersides. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel and Titania all looked alike, much like how Tethys, Dione and Rhea did. They were all very like Esmeralda and they all shared her azure blue parts, yellow-green undersides, wavy head feathers and slim build. All four girls also had eye colours that were a shade of green. Miranda had emerald green eyes like Esmeralda, Ariel had lime green eyes, Umbriel had dark hunter green eyes, like those of leaves in a solid shadow, and Titania had blue-green eyes. Oberon, however, looked more like his father Uranus. He had a stocky build, cerulean blue parts, yellow undersides and a set of forward pointing head feathers like Uranus. However, unlike his sisters and parents whose eyes were a shade of green, Oberon's eyes were sky blue. At least one of Esmeralda's family members had blue eyes and the blue also showed in Titania's eyes. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel and Titania had sometimes been called the quadruplets by other birds due to their almost identical appearance. All four liked nature and Miranda liked painting, Ariel liked nature, Umbriel liked insects and Titania liked flowers. Oberon, however, was more into soccer.

Neptune and Ultramarine had the smallest brood of the macaw couples, only two chicks consisting of a son named Triton and a daughter named Indigo. Triton, the oldest son and chick, named after the largest moon of Neptune, looked a lot like his father. He had Neptune's forward pointing tassel crest and a few feathers at the back of his head. However, he had inherited Ultramarine's stocky build and his eyes were a darker shade of blue than Neptune's. Triton had an unusual shade of blue to his feathers for a hyacinth macaw. While most hyacinth macaws had dark navy blue feathers, Triton's feather shade neared that of Blu and Zephyr. It wasn't a common thing for hyacinth macaws to have such bright a blue feathers, but Ultramarine had noted to Neptune that two of her family members, her older sister and mother, also had light blue feathers. Indigo, Triton's younger sister, however, did have the usual dark navy blue feathers but the feathers on her wings appeared to be violet tinted. Indigo had inherited Neptune's slender build, and she had a simple feather ruffle at the base of her head. Indigo's eyes were a shade of lilac, sort of a lighter version of Ultramarine's violet eye colour. Both Triton and Indigo were similar in size to the other chicks, if slightly taller but as they grow, this size difference will increase dramatically. Indigo was into science like Bia and Triton liked music and acting.

Ceres and Cobalto have had a brood of three sons, oldest son Azul, middle son Aurelio, and youngest son Wilbur. Like all blue-throated macaws, the brothers had blue backs, yellow fronts and no green forehead or black beard like marking under the beak, instead having the characteristic blue bib-like mark instead, and a small ring of white skin surrounding their eyes. All three brothers had a stocky build, which they had inherited from both their parents. However, their plumage shades varied. Azul had a blue back and bib mark and yellow-ochre front like Ceres did but he had the same sort of crest as Cobalto, a small cluster of feathers sticking backward like Blu's but larger. His eyes were a shade of blue, lighter than his father's midnight blue. Aurelio's back parts and bib were cobalt blue like his father's but his front was a softer yellow. His crest was a sheet of feathers at the back of his head, a feature neither Cobalto nor Ceres had but it was a feature one of Cobalto's relatives had. Aurelio's eyes were grey like Ceres but darker. Wilbur had a dark teal-tinted blue back and bib and his front parts were yellow-orange. His eyes were a shade of violet and Wilbur did not have much of a crest, with only a single feather flick on the top of his head. Ceres had named Wilbur after the pig in _Charlotte's Web._ All three boys seemed to like soccer, but Azul liked dancing, Aurelio liked singing and had an elaborate singing voice and Wilbur seemed to like anything brightly coloured.

Last of all, Pluto and Lapis Lazuli, the only known pair of glaucous macaws in existence, had achieved Tulio and his team's objective of breeding and giving their near-extinct species a new hope in a new generation. They had become the parents of a clutch of four chicks, eldest daughter and chick Blueberry, second oldest chick and oldest son Charon, third oldest and younger son Quincy, and youngest chick and daughter Flor. All four chicks had yellow eye rings and a beak lappet and also an all-grey head and neck like very glaucous macaw, and their body feathers varied from blue through turquoise to a soft teal-tinted light blue. Blueberry looked a lot like Lapis Lazuli but her body feathers were azure. She had no teal tint to her feathers, and her crest resembled that of Jewel. Unlike Lapis Lazuli's crest feathers which faded to blue towards the tips, Blueberry's crest was entirely grey. Blueberry's eyes were light blue and she had a slender build like both her parents. Charon, named after the largest moon of Pluto, had dark turquoise coloured feathers but no teal tint. He had most of Pluto's features including his sandy brown eyes, slender build and cowlick-like crest. However he did have a short sheet of feather behind his head which he got from Lapis Lazuli. Quincy had the same shade of body feathers as Pluto. Like his father's, his feathers were soft teal-tinted turquoise. Quincy's eyes were hazel; darker than Pluto and Charon's eyes but not as dark as Blu's eyes, and his crest was a sheet of feathers behind his head like his brother Charon's. Unlike his older brother, sister and parents, Quincy had a stocky build. Finally, Flor had the most unique body feather colour of her family. While her siblings and parents had blue or blue-shade feathers, Flor's feathers were more sea-green, which was an unusual shade of feather colour for a glaucous macaw. Flor's crest was also unlike her family's. While her siblings and parents had feather sheets and/or cowlicks, Flor had a ponytail which she always kept tied back in a vine or bobble. It was possible that somewhere along Pluto or Lapis Lazuli's family line, a macaw would have had a ponytail type crest. Flor had cyan eyes and a slender build. Her name meant 'flower' in Spanish. Blueberry liked art and singing, Charon was more into nature, Quincy liked music and dancing as well and Flor was into science and to a degree, light hearted mischief.

The small flock continued playfully chasing each other and flying through the trees, weaving in and out of the branches. Jupiter and Ruby laughed as Ganymede and Callisto chased Alexandre, Tiago and Bia right past them. Ruby leaned onto Jupiter's shoulder and he leaned onto her crown as they watched their chicks play.

"Well, I guess this is what I would call one big happy friendly, hmm, Ruby?" asked Jupiter.

"Yup," said Ruby, "It sure is."

Venus, Zephyr and Brisa then came in.

"And we're definitely safe from poaching and smuggling, for now," said Venus.

"And from financial problems that almost cost us our home," said Zephyr. Suddenly, a cloud of colourful young birds flew straight past the five. Blu and Jewel looked on as they watched Carla, Bia and Tiago play with their new friends. Jupiter then made a wide smile of mischief and called together the macaw chicks.

"Hey, kids," he cried, "Why don't you jump on Blu over there?"

At this, the cloud of young macaw chicks turned into a cloud of colourful comets as all the chicks apart from Aurora rushed straight for Blu. Blu, at this, widened his eyes and immediately took off before he could be swamped by the three-dozen chicks, among them his own. At this, everyone, including Jewel, Nico, Pedro and Rafael burst out laughing as Blu was then chased by the flock of chicks, his brown eyes wide with shock and slight panic.

"This is just like how my eighteen kids chase our relatives sometimes," said Rafael. Saturn and Orquidea then began to chase after the flock of chicks.

"Get back here, you lot," shouted Saturn playfully. As the two adult blue-and-gold macaws chased the flock of chicks, Jewel, Jupiter, Ruby, Esmeralda and Uranus joined in, followed by the others including Nico, Pedro and Rafael. The entire flock then began to perform acrobats together and then fly on through the jungle.

When Pluto, Mercury and Venus had had their chicks, it had brought tremendous joy to Tulio and his team, for they had fulfilled their goals, one of which was adding more Spix macaws and to give Carla, Bia and Tiago hope for having future mates, another was establishing a Lear's macaw population on the Blu Bird Sanctuary and three, and most important, saving the glaucous macaw species from extinction and giving the macaw species hope in a new generation. However, the project would have been devastated by another factor, financially difficulties threatening to close the Blu Bird Sanctuary. Tulio and Linda had to look for money to actually buy the land or face losing it, and that had caused a worrying time for both the conservationists and the bird residents including Jupiter and his group. However, thanks to Blu and Jewel's heroic efforts, that threat had been averted after Blu and Jewel had lead Tulio and Linda to a cage housing a colony of undiscovered species of bats, one of which was named Basil, providing an opportunity to gain income by studying these bats and thus saving the Sanctuary. However, the project of protecting the Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws from extinction will not stop here, as the conservationists will have new goals to set and work towards. As for Mercury and Venus who had been smuggled out of Brazil as chicks, they had managed to piece together what actually happened when they were chicks with the help of some of the bird residents, and Zephyr, Brisa and Sapphire and their friends including Jupiter and had been shocked and horrified to hear what had happened. Venus's father Erico had died from a broken neck after the white bird, which was actually Nigel, threw him against the tree trunk while Clarinda had died on the forest floor after being attacked by Nigel. One of Alvin and Marina's offspring, who had been a chick at the time, had told Mercury and Venus this. Furthermore, Venus's sisters, Flo and Izzy, had mysteriously disappeared. They had either been smuggled out of Brazil or had died in the jungle. Mercury's father Thomas had also been killed by Nigel but he had died a more violent death at the clutches of that wicked cockatoo, while Lola was last seen screaming in terror and fleeing, never to be seen again. Mercury's siblings, Chico, Jackie and Ashley were also unaccounted for and were likely dead. Mercury has yet to tell this story to his daughters Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and also about the paternal grandparents, two uncles and aunt they will never meet, while Venus has yet to tell Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil about their deceased maternal grandparents and two aunts that they will also never meet, and also about their dream of venturing into the Amazon hoping to discover more Spix and Lear's macaws, which seemed viable based on Zephyr, Brisa, Jewel and Sapphire's origins, but the chances of the Spix and Lear's macaw tribes still being alive were slim. Also, these chicks along with the other chicks of Jupiter's group, have yet to hear of the love story between each their parents, how they had to deal with the second group of smugglers especially that violent cat Brutus, and how Pluto and Lapis Lazuli had almost died at that savage cat's clutches had Jupiter not intervened, and also about their parents' history (Jupiter and company being raised in London, Zephyr and company coming from the Amazon). Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto certainly had a lot to tell their chicks as soon as they were old enough. For now, they were enjoying the pleasures, and dealing with the challenges parenthood brought, with a new adventure ahead of them waiting!

 **The end**

 **And that's it; this is the end of my rewrite of Rio 1 and a Half. I am pleased at how well it had turned out, and had allowed me to five a brief introduction to the flying fox colony that will appear much later in 'Attack of the Flying Foxes' and give the Lear's macaw a stronger establishment (in the previous series, they were only introduced in a later story and not Rio One and a Half). From this story's end, begins the adventures of the official movie, 'Rio 2', but only Blu and his family, Rafael, Nico and Pedro make the journey to the Amazon first. In the next story, Jupiter and company apart from Veggie and Dash and their families will be making that same journey. Stay tuned this Rio 2 sequel! VPVPVP**


End file.
